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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



M. TULLI CTCERONIS 



CATO MAIOR 



DE SENECTUTE 



EDITED 

WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES 

BY 

FRANK ERNEST ROCKWOOD, A.M. 

PROFESSOR OF LATIN IN BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY 



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NEW YOKK •:• CINCINNATI •:• CHICAGO 

AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY 



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Copyright, 1895, by 
AMEEICAN BOOK COMPAET, 



All rights reserved. 



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LC Control Number 




tmp96 031260 



PREFACE. 



The text of this edition of Cicero De Senectute is substantially 
that of C. F. W. Mliller (Leipsic, 1879). The few deviations 
from his reading are stated on p. 152, and discussed in the sup- 
plementary notes. A different punctuation has been adopted in 
some passages, and in a few words the orthography has been 
corrected to conform to Brambach. 

The De Senectute is usually given a place in the early part 
of the college course, when training in the reading of the Latin 
is imperatively needed. To assist the student in acquiring greater 
accuracy in pronunciation, the long vowels in the text have been 
marked. In this Lewis has been taken as a guide, and both his 
Latin Dictionary for Schools and his Elementary Latin Dictionary 
have been consulted. It is earnestly hoped that this feature may 
be welcomed by teachers, and may prove to be of practical value. 
It must be remembered, however, that absolute accuracy in mark- 
ing quantities is out of the questioji. 

The Introduction has been made somewhat full in order to 
present, in convenient form, a sketch of Cicero's life, with a brief 
account of what he has accomplished in literature, and more 
especially in philosophy. In the preparation of the sections 
which bear upon his standing as a philosopher and his relation 
to the leading schools. Mayor's admirable Sketch of Greek Philoso- 
phy has been very helpful. 

Cicero's defense of old age is so charming in style and so 
interesting in subject-matter that it deserves something more by 
way of commentary than mere discussion of grammatical and 



4 PREFACE. 

linguistic usage. Accordingly an attempt has been made in the 
illustrative notes, on the pages with the text, to give sufficient 
prominence to the historical and literary features of the essay, 
and to show by numerous quotations what ancient and modern 
authors have uttered like thoughts, couched in similar forms of 
expression. In numerous cases it will be seen that there is some- 
thing more than a mere similarity of thought and expression. 
Without doubt many modern writers have drawn their inspiration 
direct from the lofty sentiments of Cicero's essay, and thus the 
student is introduced to a very interesting and important literary 
study of the great master of Latin prose. If this portion of the 
work shall prove suggestive and stimulating, it will accomplish 
its intended purpose. 

In the supplementary notes a large number of grammatical 
references have been given, and whatever assistance seemed 
necessary in the translation of difficult passages, together with 
brief discussions of disputed readings. For convenience of refer- 
ence an index to the notes and an index of proper names have 
been added. 

In the preparation of this edition many works have been 
consulted. The most assistance has been received from the 
editions of Lemaire, Tischer, Lahmeyer, Sommerbrodt, Meissner, 
and Eeid. My thanks are especially due to the editors of the 
American Book Company, who have made many valuable sug- 
gestions, and who have greatly lightened the labor of taking these 
pages through the press. 

FRANK E. ROCKWOOD. 
BucKNELL University, 
December, 1894. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

General Introduction : 

PAGE 

Life of Cicero . . . « . . - . . . 7 

Table of Cicero's Life . « 15 

Cicero as a Philosopher .17 

Cicero's Works . . . 20 

Books of Reference . . . . . . - . .21 

The De Senectnte 25 

Analysis 36 

Summary 37 

Text, with Literary and Illustrative Notes ... 45 

Supplementary Notes, Grammatical and Textual . . 113 

Variations from the Text of Mijller 152 

Index to Notes 153 

Index of Proper Names 158 

5 



GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 



LIFE OF CICERO. 

1. Introduction. — Cicero must be regarded as essentially a 
man of letters. Whatever strength or weakness he may have 
manifested in public life, he undoubtedly forms the central figure 
in Eoman literature. His matchless style, his rich and varied 
learning, and his wonderful powers of application easily made 
him the foremost writer of Latin prose. To the student hitherto 
acquainted with Cicero only through his orations and letters, he 
is revealed in a new character in the light of his ethical and 
philosophical works. For a just appreciation of the latter, a 
brief review of the author's life and studies will be eminently 
helpful. . 

2. Early Life and Education. — Marcus TuUius Cicero was 
born at Arpinum in Latium, 106 b.c. His father belonged to the 
equestrian order and was well qualified by learning and culture 
to direct the training of the future orator and student of philoso- 
phy. The young Marcus, with his brother Quintus, was early 
taken to Rome to receive the best instruction which the capital 
had to offer. Among his teachers were the poet Archias, the 
famous lawyers of the Scaevola family, Phaedrus the Epicurean 
philosopher, Philo of the ISTew Academy, Diodotus the Stoic, and 
Molo the rhetorician. 

Cicero was especially fond of Greek literature and philosophy, 
and gained from these sources the elegance of expression and 

7 



8 GENERAL IXTRODUCTIOX. 

wealth of illustration so abundantly displayed in his maturer 
works. To oratory and law he devoted himself with the utmost 
eagerness, both from his natural fondness for these subjects, and 
because he saw the possibility of winning by eloquence and skill 
as an advocate the leadership in Rome which others had acquired 
through valor and success on the held of battle. A brief experi- 
ence in military affairs, however, formed part of his early train- 
ing, for at the age of seventeen he served through one campaign 
in the Social War. 

Cicero's genuine enthusiasm in his studies prompted him to 
tireless activity in their pursuit and to the adoption of the most 
thorough and practical methods known to his day. Actors, ora- 
tors, rhetoricians, and philosophers were his teachers. The 
principles of their instruction he put in practice in declamation, 
debate, and composition, in both Greek and Latin. The success 
of his later years was no mere accident, nor was it the manifestar 
tion of brilliant genius, untrained and untaught, — it w^as rather 
the natural result of the most painstaking and persistent toil. 
The whole soul of the man was aglow with the fire of learning. 
Every opportunity to secure enlarged intellectual growth and 
development was eagerly seized. 

In the school, the lecture-room, the courts, and the Forum he 
was an interested observer and an eager learner. Books and 
men, history and life, were the objects of his study. Whatever 
he acquired he tested for himself and used for the enlightenment 
of his fellows, always actuated by an irresistible desire to obtain 
the clear light of truth and to illumine others with its brightness. 
Like his rival for the palm of eloquence among the ancients, the 
renowned orator of the Greeks, he succeeded chiefly by his 
remarkable application to work and his untiring effort to realize 
a high ideal. Of the two masters of forensic speech, Cicero was 
the broader intellectually, while Demosthenes was more impres- 
sive as a speaker, carrying conviction ofttimes as much by the 
weight of his character as by the force of his words. 



LIFE OF CICERO. 9 

3. First Appearance as an Advocate. — Cicero did not yield to 
any boyish temptation to display his immature talents for the 
sake of winning temporary applause, but chose rather to bide his 
time and offer himself as a candidate for popular favor only after 
rigorous training and long-continued study. Accordingly, he was 
twenty-live when he appeared as an advocate in behalf of P. 
Quinctius, and a year older when he won great applause by his 
bold defense of Sex. Roscius, who had been accused of parricide by 
a freedman of the dictator Sulla. It was not precocit}^ of talent, 
but disciplined strength and conscious power that gave him the 
victor's laurels at the very beginning of his career. Too intense 
application to literary pursuits, however, somewhat impaired his 
health, and consequently, in 79 b.c, he followed the advice of 
friends, and sought rest and recuperation in Greece and the East. 
While in quest of bodily strength he improved every opportunity 
to hear the best teachers in Athens, Ehodes, and Asia Minor ; 
and after an absence of two years returned to Eome in renewed 
physical vigor, more proficient in the orator's art, and with a 
mind richly stored with the fruits of study and travel. All rivals 
in the race for fame were speedily distanced, and he became the 
acknowledged leader of the Roman bar, the most eloquent orator 
of his age. 

4. Public Offices. — Public honors were heaped upon the rising 
advocate in generous profusion. In due order of time, he held 
the offices of quaestor, aedile, praetor, and consul, each at the 
earliest age permitted by law. His learning, eloquence, devotion 
to duty, personal integrity, and above all, his unbounded patri- 
otism, ensured him marked success in every public station which 
he was called upon to occupy. During his consulship the liberties 
of Rome and the very existence of the government were jeopard- 
ized by the conspiracy of Catiline, Cicero's defeated rival for the 
highest honor in the gift of the citizens. But by the vigilance of 
the consul the plot was detected, and its full extent and purpose 
were made known to the senate. Many of the leaders were 



10 GENERAL INTR0DUCTI0:N\ 

arrested in the city and put to death, and Catiline himself, forced 
to fly for safety, was afterwards defeated and slain, while attempt- 
ing to gain by open war what he had hoped to accomplish by 
assassination and secret plotting. 

5. Cicero in Exile. — In the year 68 B.C., came the first serious 
blow to Cicero's hopes and ambitions. Up to this time his success 
had been brilliant in the extreme. Born in a provincial town, 
without distinguished ancestors, he had made his way by the 
force of his intellect and the persuasive power of his eloquence to 
the highest pinnacle of political renown. In return for his 
courage and patriotic devotion in the hour of Eome's impending 
danger, he had been hailed by his grateful fellow-citizens as the 
savior of his country. But Clodius, an unprincipled noble, 
enraged at Cicero for testifying against him when on trial for 
attending the festival of the Bona Dea at Caesar's house, secured 
adoption into a plebeian family for the sole purpose that he might 
be elected tribune and bring about Cicero's banishment. Installed 
in office, he obtained the passage of a law ordaining exile for any 
one who had ordered the death of a Eoman citizen without due 
form of legal trial. This was aimed directly at Cicero, who had 
caused Lentulus, Cethegus, and others of the Catilinarian con- 
spirators to be put to death in prison. From March, 58, to August, 
57, B.C., the ex-consul dragged out a wretched existence as an exile 
in Greece, forbidden on pain of death to approach within five 
hundred miles of Eome. The calamity was severer than he could 
bear. Discouraged and well-nigh broken-hearted, he gave himself 
up to grief and bitter repining. 

But at last the efforts of friends to procure his recall were 
successful. The homeward journey from Brundisium to Eome 
was one continuous ovation. From all sides the people flocked 
to greet him and accompany him on his way to the capital, until 
his final entry to the city was like the triumph of a returning 
conqueror. For the time, the multitude recalled with gratitude 
his former services, and welcomed him back with distinguished 



LIFE OF CICERO. 11 

honor to the city which he had once saved from traitors' 
hands. 

6. Proconsul in Cilicia. — A law was passed in Pompey's third 
consulship restricting the government of foreign provinces to 
praetors and consuls who had been at least five years out of office. 
To fill vacancies immediately occurring, appointments were made 
by lot from those not debarred by the new law. To Cicero's 
intense disgust his name came forth from the urn for the procon- 
sulship of Cilicia. His administration, however, was marked by 
the same energy and integrity that had characterized his conduct 
in more acceptable official positions. Though he reluctantly laid 
aside his studies to enter upon the less congenial duties of pro- 
vincial governor, yet his course was marked with such intelligence 
and justice that all classes and orders coming under his rule 
looked upon him as an upright judge and a faithful protector 
of his people. 

Even success in arms was added to his victories of peace, 
and he was hailed by his soldiers with the title of imperator. 
Encouraged by this, Cicero seemed at last to catch the true spirit 
of a soldier and looked with longing eyes toward that goal of 
every Eoman general's ambition, the splendid honor of a triumph. 
The commendable record made by him in his new, and not 
altogether pleasing, field of labor, may be taken as a clear 
indication of his breadth of character, and as ample proof of the 
wonderful power there is in simple honesty of purpose and 
unfaltering industry to make one successful, even under the most 
unfavorable circumstances. 

7. Position in the Civil War. — That portion of Cicero's life 
which immediately followed his return to Rome, in January, 
49 B.C., was probably marked by more doubt and perplexity than 
any other period in his entire history. Certainly his course 
during those eventful months has given his admirers in all ages 
but little unalloyed satisfaction. Caesar and Pompey were 
contending for supremacy. Civil war with its attendant horrors 



12 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 

was about to break forth. Cicero's ideal was the old Republic. 
It was impossible for him to turn with enthusiasm and hope 
either to Caesar or to Pompey. The course which he adopted 
seems weak and vacillating because he was compelled to choose 
between two evils and found it exceedingly difficult to decide 
which was the less. He was undoubtedly mistaken in judgment 
on many points, and blind to the true condition of the times. 
He failed to realize that the former order of things had irrev- 
ocably changed, that old forms of government had lost their 
force, and that, unless there should be a complete regeneration 
of the Roman people, only the strong hand of a master could 
give peace and stability to the government. For a long time 
weak and irresolute in the face of the most distressing doubt and 
uncertainty, he at length cast his fortunes with Pompey, only, 
however, to regret his choice when he realized how vain his 
hope had been that this much overrated man and inefficient 
leader could restore the dignity of the senate and the majesty 
of the Republic. 

After the crushing defeat of the senatorial army at Pharsalus 
and the subsequent flight and death of its commander, Cicero 
yielded to the inevitable and accepted the clemency of the con- 
queror, who, whatever else may be said of him, was generous to 
his foes. Portunate it was for his countrymen and for us, that 
Cicero's patriotism was not of that narrow, rigid sort which 
impelled Cato of Utica to look upon death as a welcome relief 
from the supremacy of one man. Cicero was indeed cast in a 
nobler mold and fashioned of diviner stuff. He possessed more 
of the scholar's spirit and a larger measure of the philosopher's 
consolation and hope. Withdrawing from public gaze, he found 
solace in the contemplation of truth and inspiration in the 
ennobling pursuit of letters. Devoting himself in this time of 
political distress and confusion to the composition of his noblest 
works, he brought forth the ripened fruit of years of laborious 
study, and handed down to the scholars of all time the priceless 



LIFE OF CICERO. 13 

inheritance of his most earnest philosophical discussions and his 
loftiest ethical teachings. 

8. Opposition to Antony. — But Cicero was not destined to 
close his life in the peaceful retirement of the scholar. Still 
stormier scenes awaited him than any through which he had yet 
passed. The murder of Caesar on the Ides of March, 44 b.c, 
was but the renewal of strife and bloodshed that were destined 
to end only with the founding of the new Empire. Cicero's first 
impulse was to seek personal safety in G-reece; but though he 
commenced the journey, he quickly changed his course and 
repaired to Eome in the earnest belief that the senatorial party 
would ultimately prevail. The closing year of his life was filled 
with stirring events. He became the leader of the senate and 
people, and bent all his energies to the establishment of peace 
on a secure basis and the rehabilitation of the government on its 
former lines. Looking upon Antony as a dangerous foe to the 
state, he attacked him in those fiery invectives known as the 
Philippics. But the temporary success of the consuls over 
Antony at Mutina and the ceaseless efforts which Cicero made 
to strengthen the hands of the constitutional party in the city 
and provinces failed to revive the ancient spirit and to restore 
the liberties of the people. 

Octavianus, at the head of his legions, forced his own election 
to the consulship, although but nineteen years of age, and then, 
uniting with Antony and Lepidus in the formation of the second 
triumvirate, shattered the hopes of all who had fondly dreamed 
that the golden age' of the Eepublic was about to return. The 
current was, in fact, setting in the other direction, and a stronger 
arm and stouter heart than Cicero's would have been powerless 
before it. Complete success for the three self-appointed lords of 
Rome was possible only by the destruction of their personal foes 
and the death of every leader of the opposition. Accordingly, 
the proscription of Sulla was renewed, and Cicero's name was 
placed by Antony's command on the list of those to be destroyed. 



14 GENERAL INTRODUCTIOX. 

9. Cicero's Death. — Cicero's only safety from impending fate 
now lay in immediate flight. Hastening from his Tusculan villa 
to Astura^ he embarked on board a vessel bound for Macedonia, 
but overcome with anguish at the thought of leaving Italy forever, 
he ordered the ship's prow turned toward the land. Delaying 
for a little time at Circeii, he again set out on his journey by sea, 
only to yield once more to his fatal irresolution, or to his over- 
mastering love for his native country, even though delay within 
its borders meant certain death. The soldiers found him at his 
Formian villa attended by his faithful slaves, who were vainly 
urging him to make a final effort to escape by sea from the hands 
of his bloodthirsty enemies. Overtaken by his pursuers under 
command of Popilius Laenas, whom he had once defended on 
a capital charge, Cicero met death calmly and courageously, 
addressing his executioner in these words, " Here, veteran ! if 
you think it right — strike ! ^' The orator's head and hands were 
carried to Antony and afterwards nailed to the rostra, the scene 
of his former triumphs. Antony's wife, who was, at the time of 
her marriage to him, the widow of Clodius, pierced the tongue 
of the murdered man with a bodkin, that she might show the 
malignity of her hate and the keenness of her delight that 
the tongue which had lashed with cutting satire her two base 
and unprincipled husbands had been forever silenced. 

Thus perished Cicero, in the sixty-fourth year of his age, after 
a life varied by brilliant successes and overwhelming defeats, 
at one time the foremost man in Eome, at last hunted to death 
like a condemned criminal. It is equal folly either to bestow 
upon him unlimited praise or to subject him, as some have done, 
to merciless criticism. We must view him in the light of his 
own time, and measure him according to the standard of his own 
age. In this way the good in his life will be seen vastly to 
outweigh the evil. None can question his patriotism, his desire 
to aid his country and preserve what he believed to be her 
best traditions. His utter inability to stay the course of Caesar 



TABLE OF CICERO'S LIFE. 15 

in his ambitious struggle for absolute power, and his impotency 
in the presence of an unscrupulous tyrant like Antony, were as 
clearly apparent to Cicero himself as they can now be to any 
of his detractors. 

10. Service to Literature. — But it is to his work in the realm 
of letters that we can turn with the greatest satisfaction. As an 
orator he is without a peer in the annals of Eome and second 
in the whole world. In literature and philosophy he has fulfilled 
the words of Horace, and "reared a monument more enduring 
than bronze, loftier than the pyramids, those moldering relics 
of old kings.'^ To estimate his services to the Latin tongue 
would be indeed a difiicult task. Subsequent writers found in 
him a model of elegance and good taste. If we could annihilate 
his influence upon Eoman letters, blot his own works out of 
existence, and close forever their rich storehouse of history, 
literature, and philosophy, Ave might gain by way of contrast 
some conception of the service he rendered his age and the real 
value of the contribution he made to the world's literature. 
But in modern times we are under greatest obligation to Cicero 
for bringing to our knowledge, through the medium of his own 
works, the highest conclusions, embodied in the teachings and 
speculatitDus of Greek philosophy, reached by the human intellect 
alone, in its attempt to determine the duty and destiny of man. 

TABLE OP CICERO^ LIFE. 

B.C. AGE. 

106. Cicero was born, Jan. 3. Pompey was born in the same year. 

100. The birth of Caesar. 6 

90. Cicero assumed the toga virilis, and studied law under Q. Mucins 16 

Scaevola, the Augur. Beginning of the Social War. 

89. Served as a soldier under Pompeius Strabo, the father of Pom- 17 

pey the Great. 

88. Heard Philo and Molo at Rome. End of the Social War. 18 

86. Death of Marius. 20 

82. Sulla made perpetual Dictator. • 24 

81. Cicero appeared as an advocate in behalf of P. Quinctius. 25 



16 GENERAL IXTRODUCTIOX. 



% 



B.C. AGE. 

80. Defended Sex. Roscius in a criminal trial. 26 

79. Visited Athens. Studied philosophy under Antiochus the 27 

Academician, and Zeno and Phaedrus the Epicureans ; 

rhetoric and oratory under Demetrius of Syria. 
78. Traveled in Asia Minor. Studied under ]\Iolo at Rhodes. 28 

77. Cicero returned to Rome. Married Terentia. Resumed his 29 

law practice. 
75. Quaestor in Sicily. ' 31 

74. Returned to Rome. 32 

70. Consulship of Pompey and Crassus. Cicero conducted the 36 

impeachment of Yerres. Birth of Vergil. 
69. Cicero, Curule Aedile. 37 

6Q. Cicero, Praetor. He delivered his oration in favor of the 40 

ManiJian Law, by which the command against Mithridates 

was given to Pompey. 
65. Cicero declined the government of a province. Birth of 41 

Horace. 
63. Consul, with C. Antonius. He suppressed the conspiracy of 43 

Catiline. 
62. Return of Pompey from the East, Cicero spoke in behalf of 44 

the poet Archias. 
61. Trial of Clodius. 45 

60. Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus formed the first triumvirate. 46 

59. Livy was born in 59 or 57 B.C. Caesar, Consul. 47 

58. Caesar went to Gaul as Proconsul for five years. Cicero went 48 

into exile, going first to Dyrrachium and then to Thessa- 

lonica. 
57. Cicero was recalled from exile by a vote of the people. 49 

55. Cicero wrote his Be Oratore. Caesar's command in Gaul 51 

extended for five years. 
54. Cicero wrote the De Republica. 52 

53. Cicero, Augur. Defeat and death of Crassus in the East. 53 

52. Cicero defended Milo, who had been accused of the murder of 54 

Clodius. Probably wrote his De Legibus in this year. 
51. Proconsul in Cilicia. 55 

49. Returned to Rome. Civil War between Caesar and Pompey. 57 

Caesar crossed the Rubicon and advanced upon Rome. 



CICERO AS A PHILOSOPHER. 17 

B.C. AGE. 

Pompey and his adherents fled. In June, Cicero left Italy 

and joined Pompey in Greece. Caesar made Dictator. 
18. Caesar defeated Pompey at Pharsalns. Cicero, who was not 58 

present at the battle, returned to Italy. The Alexandrine 

War. 
47. Meeting and reconciliation of Caesar and Cicero at Brundisium. 59 

Cicero returned to Rome. 
16. Caesar's victory at Thapsus in Africa. Caesar made Dictator 60 

for ten years ; in 44 b.c. for life. Cicero wrote his Brutus 

and his Orator. 
45. Cicero divorced Terentia and married a young ward named 61 

Publilia. Death of his daughter Tullia. In this year he 

completed several of his important works: Academicae 

QuaestioneSj De Finibus, Tusculanae Disputationes. Caesar 

gained the battle of Munda in Spain and returned to 

Rome. 
44. Caesar was assassinated on the 15th of March. Cicero wrote 62 

his De Natura Deorum, De Divinatione, De Officiis, De Senec- 

tute, De Amicitia.. Delivered the first, third, and fourth 

Philippics (the second was never delivered). 
43. Cicero delivered Philippics Y.-XIY. Antony, Lepidus, and 63 

Octavianus formed the second triumvirate. Proscription. 

Murder of Cicero, by order of Antony, Dec. 7. 

CICERO AS A PHILOSOPHER. 

11. Greek Philosophy. — Among pre-Socratic philosophers the origin 
of the universe was the chief subject of investigation and theorizing. 
Thales of Miletus, who flourished about 600 b.c. and founded the Ionic 
school, first sought to explain the mysteries of nature in a scientific 
manner. Influenced, perhaps, by Homer and his account of Oceanus, he 
ascribed the origin of things to water. Various theories were advanced 
by his successors in their attempts to solve the same problem. Anaxi- 
mander found the beginning of things in "indeterminate matter"; 
Anaximines, in " air " ; and Heraclitus, in " fire." Pythagoras of Samos, 
who settled at Crotona in Italy in 529 b.c. and founded the Italic school 
of philosophy, held that the key of the universe was to be found, not in 
material substance, but in " number and proportion." 

DE 9ENEC. 2 



18 GENERAL INTRODUCTION^. 

After a century or more of such fruitless speculation and vague 
discussion and theorizing, a natural reaction occurred, and the Sophists 
appeared upon the stage. Protesting against such profitless use of mental 
energy, they boldly declared their scepticism in regard to absolute truth, 
and sought to turn logic and philosophy to practical account in acquiring 
wealth and distinction for themselves. But a more important advance 
was made in the history of man's intellectual development by the 
advent in the philosophical world of Socrates (469-399 b.c), who fur- 
nished inspiration, directly or indirectly, to all later schools of Greek 
thought. His appearance marked the dawn of a new era. It was 
his special mission to turn men's thoughts from physical to ethical truth, 
from the solution of the problem of the universe to the determination of 
man's destiny. 

12. Schools of Philosophy in Cicero's Time. — In Cicero's time 
there were four leading schools of philosophy, the Academic, Peripa- 
tetic, Stoic, and Epicurean. The first owed its foundation to Plato, the 
pupil of Socrates, and received its name from the grove of Academus, 
w^here its founder lectured. In its historical development it was known 
successively as the Old, Middle, and New Academy. Aristotle, famous 
alike as the pupil of Plato and teacher of Alexander, discoursed on 
philosophy in the Lyceum at Athens, receiving the name of Peripatetic 
from his habit of walking while he lectured. But with the national 
decline of the Greeks and the waning influence of their religion, there 
was urgent need of some strong principle, or noble inspiration, to pre- 
vent men from relapsing into doubt and despondency. Zeno the Stoic, 
who taught in a painted porch, or stoa, began in 308 b.c. to proclaim the 
new philosophy, designed to meet this special want, and boldly asserted 
that man's highest duty consists in living in accordance with nature. 
Only a few years later, Epicurus appeared in his garden in Athens as 
the expounder of still another doctrine whose special object it was to 
liberate men from all groundless fears and enable them to live happy 
and contented lives. According to the distinctive tenet of this system, 
pleasure is the highest good ; it should be remembered, however, that 
the term as used by Epicurus signified pleasure in its purest and best 
sense. 

13. Standing as a Philosopher. — Cicero was personally acquainted 
with the leading representatives in his day of the four great schools, the 
Academy, the Lyceum, the Porch, and the Garden. Besides receiving 



CICERO AS A PHILOSOPHER. 19 

instruction from the most eminent expounders of the doctrines of these 
schools, he had roamed over the whole field of Greek philosophy and 
made himself familiar with ail that had been accomplished in this 
department of intellectual activity. In spite of his fondness for the 
subject, however, he was not an original thinker, nor did he attempt 
to establish a system or found a school of his own. His mission lay 
in making known to his countrymen what had been wrought out by 
the Greeks. Taking their works as a basis and adapting them to Roman 
needs, he discussed, in popidar style, the vital questions pertaining to 
man's existence, and laid down principles of action and rules of conduct 
which approach very closely at many points to the highest Christian 
standard. 

So far as adherence to any system is concerned. Cicero was an inde- 
pendent, or more correctly, an eclectic. In speculative philosophy he 
accepted the doctrine of the Xew Academy, which holds a high degree 
of probability as alone attainable in human knowledge, regarding abso- 
lute certainty as beyond the domain of man's reason. In ethics he 
agreed with the Stoics and Peripatetics on their common ground: that 
virtue is the highest good, and that life in accordance with nature or 
right reason, is the perfection of duty. In his view of external good, he 
wavered between the severe logic of the Stoics, who affirmed that it was 
a matter of indifference, and the less dogmatic reasoning of the Peri- 
patetics, who ascribed some value and importance to it, while holding 
that it must never be made the sole object of man's desire. Epicurean- 
ism received no favor at the hands of Cicero. Its passive doctrines of 
ease and contentment could have no charm for one who found his 
greatest enjoyment, either in the varied excitement and manifold duties 
of public office, or in the most intense intellectual activity. 

Cicero's independence and eclecticism led him to expound and com- 
pare opposing views and conflicting systems. This fact has resulted 
greatly to our advantage in enlarging our horizon and making us ac- 
quainted with much in the history of philosophy that must otherwise 
have remained unknown to us. The value of his achievements in this 
particular to the Romans can hardly be overestimated. To them he 
disclosed the choicest treasures and the most ennobling products of 
Greek thought, and made intelligible by translation, by definition, and 
practical illustration, truths and sentiments to which they had hitherto 
been strangers. 



20 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 



CICERO'S WORKS. 

14. Orations. — Fifty-seven orations ascribed to Cicero are now ex- 
tant, of which some are incomplete, and four or five may possibly be 
spurious. We have fragments of about twenty more, and know the titles 
of thirty-three others. 

15. Letters. — More than eight hundred of Cicero's letters have 
been preserved. These are divided as follows : — 

Epistulae ad Familiares, 16 Books. 
Epistulae ad Atticum, 16 Books. 
Epistulae ad Quintum Fratrem, 3 Books. 
Epistulae ad M. Brutum, 2 Books. 

16. Poems. — Only fragpaents of Cicero's poetical works remain. 
These give evidence of skill in versification, but are lacking in poetic 
inspiration. Most of them belong to his earlier years ; they were often 
mere youthful exercises, or translations from the Greek. Cicero wrote a 
metrical account of his own consulship, in three books, of which about 
eighty lines are still preserved. He also wrote a poem entitled De Meis 
Temporibus, supposed to have been a continuation of the poem on his 
consulship. 

17. Philosophical Works. — The following arrangement has been 
adapted from Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography. 

A. Rhetorical. 

De Inventione Rhetorica, 2 Books. 

De Oratore, 3 Books. 

De Claris Oratorihus (^Brutus), 

Orator. 

De Partitione Oratoria. 

T'opica. 

De Optimo Genere Oratorum. 

[Rhetorica {Ad Herennium, Incertis Auctoris), 4 Books.] 

B. Political. 

De Republican 6 Books. (Fragments.) 
De Legibus, 3 Books. 



BOOKS OF REFERENCE. 21 



C. EthicaL 

De Officiis, 3 Books. 

De Senectute (^Cato Maior). 

De Amicitia (Laelius). 

De Gloria, 2 Books. (Now lost.) 

De Consolatione. (Fragments.) 



D. Speculative. 
Academicae Quaestiones, 2 Books. 

De Finibus Bonorum et Malorum, 5 Books. 

Tusculanae Disputationes, 5 Books. 

Paradoxa. 

De Philosophia (Hortensius). (Fragments.) 

Timaeus ex Platone. 

E. Theological, 
De Natura Deorum, 3 Books. 
De Divinatione, 2 Books. 

De Fato. (Fragment.) 

BOOKS OF REFERENCE. 

For a fuller account of the life and works of Cicero, the reader is 
referred to the following books : 

18. Lives of Cicero. 

Abeken : Life and Letters. Translated by Merivale. 

Forsyth : Life of Cicero. 

MiDDLETOx : Life of Cicero (last ed. Edinburgh, 1887). 

Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography, Cicero. 

Trollope : Life of Cicero. 

Watson : Select Letters of Cicero. 

For ancient authorities, and for Latin versions of Cicero's life made 
up of extracts from his works, see Smith's Dictionary (cited above), 
Vol. I., p. 718. 

Abeken's Cicero in seinen Briefen, Hanover, 1835, the original of 
Merivale*s translation, is a standard work. Forsyth's life is the best. 



22 GENERAL mTRODUCTIOX. 

It is favorable to Cicero, but not blindly partisan. Middletou's book is 
old and highly eulogistic, but not without merit. Smith's dictionary 
contains an interesting sketch of the orator, together with a complete 
list of his works. The article is especially convenient for reference. 
Trollope's life is attractive in style, and bold in Cicero's defense. It 
brings out his personal characteristics in a vivid manner. Watson's 
edition of select letters includes useful tables, introductions, and dis- 
cussions. It is a valuable help to the study of Cicero's life as revealed 
in his correspondence. 

19. Histories^ containing Accounts of Cicero and His Times. 

Leighton : History of Rome. 

LiDDELL : History of Rome. 

Merivale : History of the Romans under the Empire, 

Merivale : The Roman Triumvirates. 

Mommsen: History of Rome. 

NiEBUHR : Lectures on the History of Rome. 

Leighton's liistory is well written and ambitious in plan. It is well 
supplied with convenient summaries and illustrative material. Liddell 
has long maintained its hold on popular favor. The author seeks to 
treat Cicero fairly. Merivale's larger work is a recognized authority on 
the history of Rome from the fall of the Republic to the age of the 
Antonines. The Roman Triumvirates is a smaller work of the same 
author. Merivale gives due prominence to Cicero and recognizes his 
strong as well as weak points. Mommsen's history is devoted to the 
growth and development of the State. It is a work of great value, but 
its conclusions are sometimes based upon speculation and not upon well- 
established evidence. Mommsen is exceedingly harsh in his treatment of 
Cicero. Xiebuhr's Rome marked an epoch in historical studies. It was 
an attempt to demolish the old record and construct a new one. The 
lectures were published after his death fi'om fragmentary notes, and are 
of less importance than the history. 

20. Works on Roman Literature. 

Bender : Brief History of Roman Literature. Translated by Crowell 

and Richardson. 
Cruttwell : History of Roman Literature. 
SiMCOX : History of Roman Literature. 



BOOKS OF REFERENCE. 23 

Teuffel : History of Roman Literature. English translation. 
WiLKiNS : Primer of Roman Literature. 

Bender's history and Wilkins's primer are brief but well written com- 
pendiums, designed to give the student an outline of Roman literature. 
The works of Cruttwell and Simcox, the latter in two volumes, are much 
broader in scope and better suited to the wants of the general reader. 
Cruttwell's is a good handbook ; Simcox is more profound and scholarly. 
TeuffePs history, in two volumes, is especially valuable for reference. It 
contains an immense amount of material and is absolutely indispensable 
to the scholar, but is not intended for general reading. 

21. Histories of Philosophy. 

Butler : Lectures on the History of Ancient Philosophy. 

Mayor : Sketch of Ancient Philosophy. 

RiTTER : History of Ancient Philosophy. 

ScHWEGLER : History of Philosophy. Translated by Seelye. 

Zeller : Greek Philosophy. Translated by Evelyn Abbott. 

Zeller : The Stoics, Epicureans, and Sceptics. Translated by Reichel. 

Ueberweg: History of Philosophy. Translated by Morris. 

Butler's lectures contain a readable exposition of the principles of 
Greek philosophy, together with accounts of the different schools and 
their founders. Mayor's sketch is excellent for a brief presentation. 
Ritter's history is a comprehensive work, invaluable for reference. The 
author gives a minute statement of Cicero's philosophy, and points out 
clearly the nature and value of the service rendered by him to Roman 
thought. Schwegler is clear in the statement of general principles, but 
not very thorough in the discussion of doctrines. Zeller shows the 
results of critical research and accurate scholarship. Morris's translation 
of Ueberweg, with additions by Porter, is, perhaps, superior in practical 
value to any other history of philosophy. Its bibliographical information 
is an important feature. 

22. Miscellaneous Books. 

Beesly : Catiline, Clodius, and Tiberius, 

BoissiER : Ciceron et ses Amis. 

Church : Roman Life in the Days of Cicero. 

Collins : Cicero (Ancient Classics for English Readers). 



24 GENERAL IXTRODUCTIOX. 

Dyer : The City of Rome. 

Fowler : Julius Caesar (Heroes of the Nations). 

Froude : Caesar. 

Landor : Imaginary Conversation between Cicero and his Brother. 

Lord : The Old Roman World. 

Napoleon III. : History of Julius Caesar. 

Montesquieu : Grandeur and Decadence of the Romans, 

A Greek version of the De Senectute was prepared by Theo. Gaza, 
Basel, 1524; edited by Hess, Halle, 1833. 

Sir John Denham (1615-1668) published a metrical version in English. 

Beesly's work, a collection of review essays, contains a severe arraign- 
ment of Cicero. Boissier gives a charming account of Cicero and his 
friends. The works of Church and Collins are popular in character, the 
latter designed especially for those who cannot read Latin. Dyer describes 
in brief compass the growth and development of the city, and relates the 
story of its famous monuments. Fowler's Caesar is an entertaining 
sketch prepared for the general reader. It sets forth Cicero's relations 
with Caesar. Froude regards Caesar as the one man for' his time, and 
looks upon Cicero as a strange mixture of strength and weakness. 
Landor's imaginary conversations, after the manner of Plato, give one a 
familiar acquaintance with the personages involved. Lord's book is in 
popular vein, entertaining in matter and style. Napoleon III. made an 
elaborate attempt to defend Caesar. Montesquieu's is an old but valu- 
able work. 

The lists given above are not intended to be complete, but simply 
suggestive. 



THE DE SEXECTUTE. 25 



THE DE SENECTUTE. 

23. Time of Composition. — It is impossible to fix the date of 
the De Senectute with absolute certainty. Slight hints in the 
essay itself and allusions in Cicero's letters lead us to believe 
that it was completed a few weeks after the death of Caesar. 
It may be assigned, therefore, with some degree of positiveness 
to April, 44 b.c. At all events, it belongs to the closing period 
of the author's life, when a^nid many disappointments and dis- 
couragements he manifested his greatest literary activity. The 
existing political conditions had compelled Cicero to withdraw 
from public affairs and seek consolation in philosophy. The 
death of his daughter Tullia, to whom he was devotedly attached, 
had filled his heart with lasting sorrow. It is not strange, then, 
that, bowed down as he was by personal grief, and distressed by 
the appalling calamities of the state, he turned his thoughts to 
the subject of Old Age. As the increasing weight of years rested 
more and more heavily upon him, it was but natural that he 
should reflect upon approaching death, and dwell with eager 
anticipation on the possibility of rejoining his loved ones in that 
spirit world, where he hoped also to meet and know the great 
and good of all ages and lands. 

24. Plan of the Work. — Cicero represents Cato the Elder as 
setting forth the compensations and advantages of Old Age at the 
earnest solicitation of his young friends, Laelius and Scipio. 
Dialogue was a common form of literary presentation among the 
Greeks, and had already been made familiar to the Eomans. 
Cicero, however, did not employ the Socratic method found in 
Plato's works, with its frequent interchange of question and 
answer, but chose rather the Aristotelian plan, a complete expo- 
sition of the subject by one leading speaker, with very few inter- 
ruptions on the part of the listeners. In this way the author, 
through the medium of an appropriate historical character, pub- 
lishes his own beliefs and gives them a touch of real life. To 



26 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 

the reader, the ideas advanced seem to flow from the actual expe- 
rience of the speaker. No other method so successfully combines 
careful, accurate statement, on the one hand, with vividness, 
personal force, and dramatic action on the other. Cicero himself 
bears witness to its effectiveness: ^^Accordingly while reading 
my own words, I am at times so much affected that I think Cato 
and not myself speaking*' {De Am, I. 4). 

The scene of the imaginary dialogue is laid at the home of 
Cato, 150 B.C. Scipio and Laelius are supposed to pay a visit to 
the Censor and express their admiration of the manner in which 
he bears old age. Cato was at that time eighty-four and still 
remarkable for his physical and intellectual vigor. He was a 
representative Roman of the old school, a type of the men who 
subdued Italy and prepared the way for the conquest of the 
world. Scipio and Laelius belonged to a younger generation ; 
their life-work was still before them. They might well be sup- 
posed to realize their responsibility in view of the opportunities 
opening before them, and feel anxious to learn what course they 
should pursue to reach such an honorable and enjoyable old age 
as that which had crowned Cato's long and active life. 

25. Dedication to Atticus. — Cicero dedicated his De Senectute, 
and also the De Amicitia, later, to Titus Pomponius Atticus, as a 
tribute of respect to a lifelong friend. Their acquaintance began 
in boyhood, when they were schoolmates, and grew Avith advanc- 
ing years into a strong and abiding attachment. Atticus, inher- 
iting great wealth and preferring a life of refinement and leisure 
to the cares of public office, withdrew from the turmoil and 
danger consequent upon the unsettled condition of the Eoman 
state, and resided for many years in Greece. This gave him 
abundant opportunity to pursue his studies and to try his hand 
as publisher, author, and literary critic, in the last of which rdles, 
especially, he displayed talent of no mean order. The expe- 
rience thus gained, combined with an amiable disposition and 
refined character, made him a congenial companion for Cicero, 



THE DE SENECTUTE. 27 

while his excellent judgment and scholarly taste enabled him to 
assist his friend with practical suggestions and wise criticisms. 
When the De Senectute was completed, Atticus had already 
reached the age of sixty-five. It was eminently fitting, there- 
fore, that Cicero should inscribe- his essay on Old Age to him, and 
bestow this mark of honor upon a friend of such long standing, 
upon one, in fact, who had been alike the sharer of his youthful 
joys and the trusted companion of his riper age. It was Atticus' 
fortune, as the sequel proved, to survive the author ten years and 
test in his own experience the ingenious reasoning employed by 
his friend in his charming defense of life's declining years. 

26. Greek Sources. — In the composition of the De Senectute, 
Cicero occasionally borrowed from Plato's Eepublic and Xeno- 
phon's Oeconomicus and Cyropaedia. The arguments which he 
gives for the immortality of the soul he simply repeats in sub- 
stance from the works of Plato. An allusion in the first chapter 
to Aristo of Ceos certainly indicates that he was acquainted with 
a treatise on Old Age by that author. But whether he drew 
from this to any great extent or not we are unable to determine, 
for Aristo's work has not come down to us. Cicero makes no 
attempt to conceal his indebtedness to the Greeks. On the other 
hand, he frequently mentions his authorities for the purpose of 
strengthening and enforcing his point. In dealing with the orig- 
inals he sometimes follows the text closely, and sometimes trans- 
lates with greater freedom, often varying the minor features of an 
illustration in order to give it a more pronounced Eoman coloring. 

27. Literary Character. — As a literary production the De Senec- 
tute has deserved and won the highest praise. Cicero was preemi- 
nently a master of style, and in this treatise, in the composition 
of which he evidently took genuine delight, we see him at his 
best. The dialogue form made lively, animated discourse, easy 
of attainment, while the special line of argument employed pre- 
pared the way for apt and forcible illustrations. One by one the 
supposed charges against Old Age are reviewed and met by exam- 



28 GENERAL IXTRODUCTIOX. 

pies of eminent Greeks and Eomans who preserved their vigor, 
military prowess, commanding influence in state affairs, literary 
skill, poetic inspiration, or philosophical acuteness far beyond 
man's allotted age of three score and ten. Cicero's wide acquaint- 
ance with literature and history made it an easy task for him to 
marshal the hosts of ancient worthies in support of his argu- 
ments. Besides this, in the simpler matter of form and arrange- 
ment he has displayed his best characteristics and made his work 
worthy of the most careful study. Sentence order based upon 
emphasis, pleonasm for rhetorical effect, anaphora with its result- 
ing force and brevity, and, including all other excellences, the 
well-rounded period, so stately in its movement, and so impressive 
to the Eoman mind, are exemplified in this essay in the well-nigh 
faultless style of the greatest master of the Latin tongue. For 
more than eighteen centuries the De Senectute has been read and 
admired, a fact sufl&cient in itself to prove its beauty of expression 
and depth of meaning. 

28. Philosophical Value. — In its philosophical import it is to 
be regarded as an ethical treatise written for a definite, practical 
purpose, to help his friend Atticus, and all who might read it, to 
bear the ills and burdens of life's closing period with becoming 
dignity and manly courage. Educated Eomans had already lost 
faith in the corrupt and fanciful religious beliefs of their fathers. 
Lest they be tempted to yield ultimately to despair or to plunge 
into the mire of vice and immorality, the noblest minds sought 
refuge in the teachings of philosophy. For such, Cicero's moral 
treatises were full of comfort and inspiration. He delighted to 
draw his illustrations from the best years of his country's his- 
tory, and to commend in earnest terms the simple virtues and 
temperate lives of Fabricius, Curius, and the men of their day. 
By such examples he sought to revive in the hearts of his fellow- 
citizens the ancient spirit of patriotism, which shrank from no 
sacrifice, even that of life itself, in defense of the honor and 
liberties of Eome. 



THE DE SEXECTUTE. 29 

But Cicero's message, uttered by the lips of Cato, was not lim- 
ited to the men of his own time merely. The truths which he 
proclaimed were as broad in their meaning and as wide in their 
application as humanity itself. Emerson, in his essay on Old 
Age, thus bears witness to the enduring value and suggestive 
force of Cicero's work: -^The speech led me to look over at 
home Cicero's famous essay, charming by its uniform rhetorical 
merit; heroic with Stoical precepts; with a Eoman eye to the 
claims of the state ; happiest, perhaps, in his praise of life on 
the farm ; and rising at the conclusion to a lofty strain. But he 
does not exhaust the subject; rather invites the attempt to add 
traits to the picture from our broader modern life." Of its lit- 
erary excellence and soundness in doctrine, the late Professor 
Lincoln thus speaks : " I have been impressed more than ever 
before with the worth of this Latin essay, in the justness 
of its sentiments and in the finish of its diction. The tone is 
cheerful and genial, and yet calm and serious ; the argument for 
age moves on at times with a moderate concession, but mostly 
with a happy ingenuity and glowing fervor of defense. It is 
Eoman in its good sense and sober, practical spirit; it is Cice- 
ronian in the fullness and richness of its ideas and illustrations, 
and it is human and humane in all its views of man's life and 
destiny." (In Memoriam, J. L. L., p. 624.) 

29. Characters. (1) Laelius. — Gains Laelius, surnamed Sapiens, 
was born about 186 b.c. His father was the friend and associate of the 
elder Africanus in the Second Punic War, and was elected to the consul- 
ship, 190 B.C. The younger Laelius added broader culture and greater 
versatility of talent to the. good qualities of the elder. He succeeded 
alike as soldier, orator, and author, and held the offices of tribune, 
praetor, augur, and consul, the last in the year 140 B.C. In the fierce 
struggle at the capture and destruction of Carthage, he was second in 
command to Scipio, and displayed remarkable skill and bravery. As a 
patron of literature he was even more distinguished than in the capacity 
of statesman or general. Well trained in oratory, law, and philosophy, 
he delighted to gather about him the choicest spirits and brightest wits 



30 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 

of his time. To his home came Pacuvius, Terence, Lucilius, Scaevola, 
and men of similar tastes, and together they studied the best authors or 
discussed the profoundest questions in philosophy. From this group 
of scholarly men radiated an influence beneficial to the interests of 
learning and culture in Rome. To this company, too, belonged Scipio, 
in whom Laelius found a kindred soul and a never-failing friend. 
Though the younger Africanus received more ample civil and military 
honors, yet he willingly yielded the palm to Laelius as a man of letters 
and a patron of scholars. For years these distinguished leaders, the 
best products of Roman civilization, alike the ornament and the defense 
of the state, shared their burdens and their pleasures. Of the noted 
friendships of antiquity, none surpasses that of Laelius and Scipio in 
sincerity and unselfishness, or in nobility of aim and purity of purpose. 
When Cicero wrote his De Amicliia, he selected Laelius as best qualified 
by experience to set forth the principles and advantages of friendship, 
and eulogize the life and character of the departed Scipio. How long 
Laelius survived the death of the latter is not known. 

(2) Scipio. — Scipio was the son of Aemilius Paulus Macedonicus, 
who defeated Perseus at Pydna, 168 B.C., and thus completed the conquest 
of Macedonia. He was born 185 B.C., and was adopted by the eldest 
son of Scipio Africanus. By virtue of this adoption, his full name 
became Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus, to which was afterwards 
added Africanus, in honor of his victory over Carthage. His first expe- 
rience as a soldier was gained under his father at Pydna. In the year 
151 B.C. he served as military tribune in Spain, and won distinction by 
his energy and personal courage. In the Third Punic War, the Romans, 
disheartened by the ill success of their generals, elected Scipio consul for 
the year 147 b.c, though he had not yet reached the legal age, and gave 
him the chief command, in the hope that he would quickly terminate 
the conflict, and add new luster to Roman arms. Their confidence was 
not misplaced. In the following spring he captured the city, utterly 
overthrew the Carthaginian power, and received as his own reward a 
magnificent triumph at Rome. Again, in 133 b.c, he was called upon 
to retrieve losses due to the mismanagement and incompetency of others, 
and brought to a successful issue the Xumantine War, which had been 
prolonged, to the injury and discredit of Rome, ten years. Upon his 
return from this campaign, he lost the favor of the popular party by 
expressing approbation of the murder of Ti. Gracchus. 



THE DE SENECTUTE. 



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32 GENERAL IXTRODUCTIOX. 

Scipio's death occurred 129 B.C., under very suspicious circumstances. 
After making vigorous opposition in the senate to some of the provisions 
of the agrarian laws of Gracchus, he was conducted to his home by- 
senators and landed proprietors of the Italian allies, who showed in this 
manner their appreciation of his bold stand in advocating their interests 
against the demands of the reformers. On the following morning he 
was found dead on his couch. The true story of his death still remains 
a mystery. Many suspected foul play, and openly charged Carbo, one 
of the leaders of the Gracchan party, with the crime of murder. His 
subsequent suicide gave strong ground for belief in his guilt, but the 
accusation was never substantiated by legal proof. 

Scipio, like his lifelong companion, Laelius, was a man of great cul- 
ture and refinement, a patron of Greek learning in its best form, and the 
warm friend of the historian Polybius. In purity of life and devotion 
to principle, the younger Africanus has had no superior in the annals of 
his country. Great as he appeared in war, as the conqueror of the two 
cities most hostile to Rome, he deserves still higher distinction for his 
cultivation of the ennobling arts of peace and his generous patronage of 
the famous " Scipionic Circle," composed of the most enlightened authors 
and scholars of Rome. 

The table on page 31, adapted from Smith's Dictionary of Biography, 
shows the relationship of the most noted members of the Scipio family. 

(3) Cato. — The chief events in Cato's life are enumerated by Cicero 
in the De Senectute, but a brief sketch of the man will be appropriate at 
this point and will help to a clearer understanding of the text. It must 
be borne in mind that Cicero did not select Cato as the principal speaker 
in the dialogue in the belief that he was in all respects an ideal person, 
but rather on account of the integrity, the physical vigor, and the intel- 
lectual activity which he manifested in extreme old age, and that in the 
progress of the work he found it necessary to remodel Cato's character 
to some extent, softening its harsh features, rounding off the sharp cor- 
ners and imparting to it more refinement and culture than ever actually 
marked the stern old Censor. 

Marcus Porcius Cato belonged to a plebeian family of Sabine stock 
and was born at Tusculum, 234 b.c. Though we know little of his early 
years, yet we may reasonably conclude that he received the best training 
in law and oratory afforded by his native town and the neighboring city 
of Rome. The plain, austere life of the hardy Sabines seems to have 



THE DE SENECTUTE. 33 

suited hi« vigorous constitution and pleased his simple tastes, for he not 
only labored in his boyhood on the paternal estate, but always mani- 
fested special fondness for his country home, and never shrank from the 
severest kind of toil known to the sturdy farmers of that rude age. 

Like other young men of his time, he rendered his first service to the 
state, as a soldier in the Second Punic War, taking part with great credit 
to himself in several important engagements, including the decisive 
battle of the Metam'us. In the year 204 b.c. he was quaestor in Sicily 
under Scipio. The two men were totally unlike in disposition and in 
their views of public service. Cato's vigorous opposition to what he 
regarded as the unwarranted extravagance of his superior in office 
resulted in the mutual hatred and open hostility which existed between 
them for nearly twenty years and terminated only at Scipio's death. 
Cato became aedile 199 b.c, praetor in the following year, and in 195 b.c. 
reached the dignity of the consulship. 

His colleague in the latter office was his patron and life-long friend 
Valerius Flaccus, a wealthy and powerful Roman, who had been early 
impressed with the sterling qualities of the young Cato and had in- 
duced him to take up his abode in the metropolis that he might try 
his powers in a broader field. The province of Spain fell to his lot, 
and this he ruled with so much vigor, and at the. same time with such 
wisdom and justice, that he won the respect and confidence of the 
provincials and received on his return to Rome the distinguished 
honor .of a triumph. 

In 191 B.C., Antiochus, king of Syria, invaded Greece at the instiga- 
tion of Hannibal, the implacable foe of the Republic, and in the 
campaign which followed Cato served as legatus consularis on the staff 
of Acilius Glabrio, the Roman commander, adding new luster to his 
military fame. By his success in gaining the rear of the enemy by a 
night march through a difficult and dangerous path, and by his sudden 
attack upon the unsuspecting foe, he contributed very materially to 
Glabrio's victory at Thermopylae. 

In the year 184 B.C., Cato held the office of censor. It was in this 
position that he gained his greatest distinction and made the force of his 
personality most strikingly felt. Supported by his colleague, his old 
friend and admirer Valerius Flaccus, he at once adopted the strictest 
measures to check extravagance and corruption, and tried to bring about 
a complete reform in the morals of Rome. The lists of knights and 

DE SENEC. — 3 



34 



GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 



senators were carefully revised, and those whose moral baseness or wilKul 
neglect of duty had rendered them unworthy of high rank were deprived 
of their privileges and branded with disgrace, regardless of their wealth 
or distinguished family connection. Jewels, fine clothing, beautiful orna- 
ments, and expensive slaves were heavily taxed in the hope of putting an 
end to the lavish expenditure of money on such useless luxuries. By 
this radical course Cato became involved in countless legal difficulties 
and was made defendant in nearly fifty suits at law. But while he 
proved powerless to change the current of events and stay the rising tide 
of wealth, with its attendant evils, yet he never faltered or wavered in 
his belief, nor did he cease to cry out against the corruption of his time 
and to advocate the sterner virtues and simpler living of the best days 
of the Republic. 

Cato's closing years were marked by the most intense hostility to 
Carthage. The increasing prosperity and growing power of the Phoeni- 
cian city filled him with apprehension and alarm for the future supremacy 
of Rome. A war of extermination against the hated rival appeared to 
him the only course for the senate to pursue, and consequently in season 
and out he reiterated his dire forebodings and sternly demanded the 
destruction of the ill-fated city. Delenda est Cartliago was his constant 
cry. The inevitable struggle came at last, but the death of the grim old 
Censor in the year 149 B.C. prevented him from seeing the fulfillment of 
his cherished desire and beholding the final and complete triumph of 
Rome. 

It is difficult to make a just estimate of Cato's character. In our day, 
he would be looked upon as narrow and intolerant to the last degree. 
Compared with the men of his own time, he was austere and imperious, but 
nevertheless thoroughly in earnest in his zeal for the true welfare of Rome 
and uncompromising in his war on every form of evil which threatened 
to sap the lifeblood of the people or waste their substance. In his 
public career, while he was always ready to fight to the bitter end 
against the enemies of the Republic, he was equally emphatic in his 
advocacy of impartial justice to the provincials and fair dealing with 
all law-abiding dependents of the state. He desired to see in Rome the 
thrift and freedom from luxury which marked the life of his Sabine 
neighbors, and, though his failure to win over the wealthy aristocracy to 
his way of thinking was a foregone conclusion, yet he never relaxed his 
principles or acknowledged defeat. 



THE DE SENECTUTE. 35 

Cato was a voluminous author; he has, in fact, been justly called 
" the creator of Latin prose writing " ; but with the exception of the 
De Re Rustica, which is still extant in a fairly good state of preservation, 
only fragments of his works have come down to us. Cicero was ac- 
quainted with one hundred and fifty of his speeches and knew the titles 
of eighty or ninety more. As an orator, Cato had no peer in his own 
day. His intense earnestness gave added force to his words, while at the 
same time, training and practice had made him eloquent in language 
and convincing in argument, — in short, master of the orator's most 
effective resources. His addresses were filled with caustic wit, pithy 
sayings, and wise utterances, which were greatly enjoyed by the people 
and readily passed into proverbial expressions. His keen insight and 
his undisguised hatred of fraud and shams of every kind impelled hinr 
to utter the. honest truth in the most telling way. But Cato's principal 
literary effort was the composition of the Origines, an account of Rome 
and the early Italian communities. The loss of this work is to be deeply 
resetted ; for it far surpassed in excellence and thoroughness the annals 
and chronicles which had preceded it, and was, in fact, the first produc- 
tion in the Latin language deserving the name of history. 

Cato looked upon the Greeks with utter contempt and anticipated 
disastrous effects from the influence of their learning upon the Romans. 
" Whenever," he said, " that nation shall give us its literature, it will 
corrupt everything." When the famous philosophers, Carneades the 
Academic, Critolaus the Peripatetic, and Diogenes the Stoic, came to 
Rome as ambassadors, 155 B.C., he advocated in the senate their expul- 
sion from Italy. As to the extent of his own knowledge of the Greek 
language and literature, the accounts are not very clear. This, however, 
is true ; if Cicero were trying to draw an accurate picture of the living 
Cato, he would not represent him as so deeply imbued with Stoic philos- 
ophy, or so fond of quoting Xenophon and Plato as he has made him 
appear in the De Senectute. Cicero was in reality expressing his own 
thoughts by the lips of Cato. 

After all due allowances have been made, the great censor, viewed in 
any light, is one of the most striking figures in Roman history. With 
his tireless energy, his indomitable will, and his unyielding devotion to 
his cherished principles, he made a wonderful impression upon his own 
age and gained for himself a name that will endure as long as that of 
Rome itself. 



36 



GENERAL INTRODUCTIOISr. 



ANALYSIS. 
I. Introduction : 

1. Dedication to Atticus. 

2. Form of the work. 

3. Preliminary conversation : 

a. Laelius and Scipio ask Cato the secret of his happy old age. 
h. Cato replies that character alone will make the burden of 

age easy to bear. 
c. Illustrations of this : Fabius, Plato, Isocrates, Gorgias, 

Ennius. 



II. Discussion : Four reasons why old age seems to be unhappy : 

A. It withdraws one from active life. 

B. It makes the body weak. 

C. It deprives one of pleasure. 

D. It is not far from death. 

A. In answer to the first charge it may be said : 

1. There are duties which can be best performed by old men. 

2. Memory can be retained by proper use. 

3. Both Greek scholars and Sabine farmers are active till 

death. 

B. In answer to the second reason : 

1. Old age does not need youthful vigor. 

2. Physical strength is often impaired by the vices of youth. 

3. Ill health is common to all ages. 

4. Bodily vigor may be retained by care of health and by 

devotion to intellectual pursuits. 

C. In refutation of the third charge : 

1. Old age is free from many of the temptations of youth. 

2. Old men find sufficient pleasure in conversation, literary 

pursuits, agriculture, honor and respect paid them 
by the young, and in the influence that belongs to 
the wisdom of age. 

3. Peevishness is the fault of character, not of old age. 



SUMMARY. 87 

D, The fourth reason is shown to be groundless by the 
following : 

1. There is nothing in death really to be dreaded. 

2. The young are exposed to it, as well as the old. 

3. It comes in the course of nature. 

4. It is a haven of rest to the aged who have lived wisely 

and well. 

5. It leads to immortality. Cato is led to this belief by 

reason and philosophy, as shown in : 
a. Pythagoras' doctrine of the world-soul. 
h. Plato's four arguments for immortality, 
c. Cyrus' words to his sons. 
d» The fact that belief in a future life inspires men to 

great deeds. 
€, The calm manner in which the wisest die. 
/. The soul's longing to depart and rejoin its loved ones. 

III. Conclusion: Whether the teachings of philosophy concerning the 
immortality of the soul be true or not, death is natural to old 
age and should be accepted as the close of life's drama. " May 
you, O Laelius and Scipio, live to experience the truth of what 
I say." 

SUMMARY. 

Chapter I. 

Cicero addresses Atticus with verses from Ennius, and dedicates the 
De Senectute to him, in the hope that it may lighten the increasing 
burden of old age. The work of composition has been a delight. 
The characters in the dialogue ^are Cato the elder, Scipio, and 
Laelius. 

Chapter II. 

Scipio. ^'I admire the way in which you bear the burden of years, 

Cato." 
Cato. "It is easy enough. Those who have resources in themselves 

are prepared for all the changes of life. My wisdom consists simply 

in following Nature." 
Laelius. " Tell me, Cato, the secret of a happy old age." 



38 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 



Chapter III. 

Cato. "Old men complain that they are deprived of pleasure and 
neglected by their friends, but the fault is in their own characters." 

Laelius. " True ; and yet you have been more highly favored by for- 
tune than many others." 

Cato. "You are partly right, but you do not cover the whole ground. 
The story of Themistocles and the Seriphian illustrates the case. 
A well-spent life is the surest way to a happy old age." 

Chapter IV. 

The aged Fabius restored the state by his policy of delay ; recaptm-ed 
Tarentum; strove to maintain the authority of the senate; served 
as augur; displayed remarkable fortitude in bearing the death of 
his son ; and was well versed in history and literature. 

Chapter Y. 

Maximus won military honors in old age. Plato, Isocrates, and Gorgias 
never gave up their literary pursuits. Ennius was happy at seventy 
in spite of his poverty. Four reasons why Old Age seems to be 
miserable. 

Chapter YI. 

First : Old Age removes us from active business. To this Cato replies, 
there are duties requiring wisdom and experience, which old men 
alone can properly perform. Paulus, Fabricius, Appius Claudius, 
Cato himself, and many others illustrate this. Among the Lacedae- 
monians old men hold the highest offices. Youth is rash. Old Age 
prudent. 

Chapter VII. 

Memory fails. Not if well trained. Themistocles retained his. Cato 
does not fear that his will be destroyed by reading inscriptions on 
tombstones. Old men remember whatever they are interested in. 
Sophocles and many illustrious poets and philosophers maintained 
their intellectual activity in extreme old age. Cato's Sabine neigh- 
bors do the same. 



SUMMARY. 39 



Chapter YIII. 

The old, said Caecilius, see many things which they do not wish to see 
and become burdensome to their friends. In reply to this it may be 
said, that wise old men and young men of good ability enjoy each 
other's society. Old men are always occupied. Solon learned some- 
thing new every day. 

Chapter IX. 

Second : Loss of physical strength comes with old age. But old men do 
not need the vigor of youth. The foolish lament of Milo, the ath- 
lete. Gentle discourse is becoming to the aged. Old men can find a 
pleasant task in teaching the young. Bodily weakness due to dissi- 
pation in early years. Cyrus and Metellus retained the strength of 
youth. 

Chapter X. 

Homer's account of the aged ^N'estor. Cato at eighty-four, though lack- 
ing youthful vigor, is still able to discharge his manifold civil duties. 
It is more important that one use his strength properly than that he 
have a great amount. Pythagoras' intellect is worth more than 
Milo's strength. Each period of life has its distinguishing charac- 
teristics. Masinissa's wonderful vigor at ninety. 



Chapter XI. 

Old men are exempt from duties which require bodily strength. They 
suffer from ill health ; but so do young men, as shown in the case of 
Africanus' son. One must resist old age by taking due care of both 
body and mind. Dotage is not characteristic of all old men. Appius 
Claudius maintained his authority over his household. The ideal 
senex is old in body only, not in spirit. Cato finds consolation for 
the loss of physical strength in literature and civil duties. 



Chapter XII. 

Third : Old Age deprives us of pleasure. This is indeed a blessing; for 
bodily pleasure is the greatest source of evil. We ought to thank 



40 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 

Old Age for freeing us from its dominion. Cato removed T. Flami- 
ninus from the senate because of his disgraceful conduct. 

Chapter Xni. 

Epicurus taught that all things ought to be referred to pleasure as the 
standard of right. Curius and Coruncanius wished that the Samnites 
could be made to believe this. Fabricius thought that the beautiful 
and the good ought to be sought for their own sake. Old Age avoids 
overindulgence in pleasure and therefore escapes its attendant evils. 
Cato enjoys clubs and banquets. In the latter he finds more pleasure 
in companionship than in eating and drinking. 

Chapter XIY. 

Cato even indulges in prolonged banquets for the sake of conversation 
with old and young. He often invites his Sabine neighbors to dine 
with him. Old Age loses its desire for the baser pleasures of youth, 
but is not wholly devoid of enjoyment. When the mind is no longer 
under the sway of passion and folly, it takes delight in intellectual 
pursuits, astronomy, poetry, law. Such pleasures increase with age. 

Chapter XY. 

The pleasures of the husbandman are not lessened by old age. The 
earth returns what it receives, with interest. It causes the seed to 
germinate and the fruit to grow. The cultivation of the vine; the 
ripening cluster ; the supporting trellis ; irrigation, digging, and fer- 
tilizing. The story of Laertes. The many delights of rural life. 

Chapter XYI. 

Curius spent his closing years in farming; his indifference to wealth. 
Cincinnatus was called from the plow to the office of dictator. The 
life of the farmer is happy and useful. A farm, with its meadows, 
orchards, and vineyards, affords the most delightful home for the 
aged. Let the youth keep their games and exercises ; the old can be 
happy without such amusements. 



SUMMARY. 41 

Chapter XVII. 

Xenophon's Oeconomicus. Lysander's visit to a park belonging to 
Cyrus the younger. Agriculture the best occupation for old men. 
Corvinus, though six times consul, engaged in it. Authority is the 
crown of old age. This was true of Metellus, Calatinus, and many 
others. 

Chapter XVIII. 

A happy old age comes only from a well-spent youth. Old men enjoy 
the respect of their juniors. The Spartans noted for the honor they 
paid to the aged. Contrast between the Spartans and Athenians. 
Respect paid to age in the college of augurs. Peevishness, fault-find- 
ing, and avarice are due to character, not to age. 



Chapter XIX. 

Fourth : The approach of death. But this should not be feared, for it is 
followed either by eternal happiness or by annihilation. Even the 
young are not sure of life ; many dangers threaten them. Young 
men hope for long life; old men have attained it. The longest 
existence must end at last. A short life may be pure and happy ; if 
prolonged, its closing years are the time for gathering life's fruit. 
Death in the young is untimely; by the old it is welcomed as a 
haven of rest after a long voyage. 



- Chapter XX. 

Old age is more courageous than youth. The most suitable time for 
death. Nature fashions and destroys our bodies. Pythagoras for- 
bids suicide. Solon wished to be mourned after death. Ennius 
thought it the gate of immortality, and therefore no occasion for 
tears. We must remember its certainty and cease to fear it. The 
example of great commanders and common soldiers who have faced 
death should give us courage. The pleasures of each age in time 
lose their charm and death comes in the course of nature. 



42 



GENERAL mTRODUCTIO:N^. 



Chapter XXI. 

Cato's reason and the authority of eminent philosophers impel him to 
believe that the soul is of divine origin and the body its prison-house. 
Pythagoras taught that the souls of men come from the great world- 
soul which animates the universe. A brief statement of Plato's 
arguments for the immortality of the soul. 

Chapter XXII. 

The dying words of Cyrus the Elder to his sons. The soul is invisible. 
The spirits of the illustrious dead continue to influence us. The soul 
released from the body enters upon a higher and purer existence. 
Death compared to sleep. 



Chapter XXIII. 

Belief in immortality inspires great men to live laborious lives. The 
wisest meet death most calmly. Cato is anxious to rejoin his de- 
parted friends and to see the great heroes of former ages. He does 
not wish to live his life over again, though he does not regret that he 
has lived. This earth is an inn, not a home. Cato longs to depart 
and be with his son, whose death he bore so calmly because he 
thought it but a temporary separation. In conclusion, Cato thinks 
old age agreeable and easy to bear ; and hopes that his auditors may 
live to test his theories. 



M. TULLI CICERONIS 

CATO MAIOK DE SENECTtJTE LIBER 

AD T. POMPONIUM ATTICUM. 



M. TULLI CICERONIS 

CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE LIBER 

AD T. POMPONIUM ATTICUM. 



TiTE, SI quid ego adiuero curamve levasso, 
Quae nunc te coquit et versat in pectore fixa, 
Ecquid erit praemi ? 



O Tite 



praemi. These verses 



and the two following are taken from 
the tenth book of the Annales of En- 
nius, a poem in eighteen books, on the 
model of Homer, recounting the his- 
tory of Rome from the wanderings of 
Aeneas to the time of the poet, who 
lived from 239 to 169 b.c. In this 
national epic, of which only a few 
fragments now remain, the old Sa- 
turnian measure first gave way to the 
Greek hexameter. The lines here so 
aptly addressed by Cicero to his friend 
Atticus are supposed to have been 
spoken by an Epirote shepherd to 
Titus Quinctius Flamininus, the com- 
mander of the Romans in the war 
against Philip of Macedon, 198 b.c. 
Philip's army, advantageously posted 
in a narrow defile connecting Epirus 
and Thessaly, held the Romans at 
bay for six weeks, until a chief, one 



Charops by name, sent a shepherd to 
Flamininus to show him a way over 
the mountains. A force was dis- 
patched by this secret path to a com- 
manding position in the rear of the 
Greeks, who were then attacked on 
all sides and driven from the pass. 
Livy relates the occurrence in XXXII. 
9, 10. See also LiddelPs History of 
Borne, pp. 424-428, for the same in- 
cident and for an account of the sub- 
sequent victory of the Romans at 
Cynoscephalae, 197 b.c. 

Cicero, in his letters to Atticus, 
XVI. 3 and 11, uses the words Tite 
to designate this essay. In like man- 
ner the Romans called the Aeneid of 
Yergil Anna virumque cano and Lu- 
cretius' works Aeneadum genetrix. 
So the Bulls and Encyclicals of the 
Popes receive their distinct names 
from their initial words. 



45 



46 



CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE. 



Licet enim mihi versibus eisdem adfarl te, Attice, quibus 
adfatur riaminlnuni 

lUe vir hand magna cum re, sed plenus fidei ; 
quamquam certo scio non, ut Flamininum, 

SoUicitari te, Tite, sic noctesque diesque ; 5 

noYi enim moderationem animi tui et aeqnitatem, teqne non 
cognomen solum Athenis deportasse, sed htimanitatem et 



Flamininum. Scarcely anything 
is known of the early life of Elamini- 
nus. He was made consul 198 b.c, 
at which time he is said to have been 
but thirty years of age. Having 
brought the second Macedonian war 
to a successful close, he held the fate 
of Greece in his hands. When in the 
summer of 196 b.c, the people, anx- 
ious to know his decision, had as- 
sembled in great numbers in the 
amphitheater at Corinth, on the oc- 
casion of the Isthmian games, he 
ordered a crier to announce that 
*'the Roman senate and Titus Quinc- 
tius, the commander, having con- 
quered Philip and the Macedonians, 
declared all the Greeks who had been 
subject to the king free and indepen- 
dent." In the year 183 b.c, Flami- 
ninus was sent on an errand that 
reflected no credit upon himself or 
the senate. He was commissioned to 
visit the court of Prusias, king of 
Bithynia, and demand the person of 
Hannibal. But the proud-spirited 
Carthaginian, defeated in all his plans 
against Rome and now driven from 
his last place of refuge, terminated 
by poison the life that had long ceased 
to be worth the living. Plamininus 
appears to have been living in 168 b.c, 



but after that time disappears from 
history. 

aequitatem. Horace refers to the 
same quality of mind in Odes II. 3, 

Aequam memento rebus in arduis 
Servare ment^m, jion^ecns in bonis 
Ab insolenti temperatam 
Laetitia, moriture Delli. 

cognomen. A Roman had at least 
two names, generally three, praeno- 
men, nomen, cognomen, as Gains 
Julius Caesar. The term cognomen 
is applied to the family name, and 
also used to designate a by-name, as 
Africanus and Atticus. Titus Pom- 
ponius received this surname from 
his long residence in Athens (86- 
65 B.C.) and from his generosity to 
the Athenians and his true Attic cul- 
ture. He left Rome on account of 
the disturbed condition of the state 
and sought Athens as a favorable 
place to prosecute his studies. Cf. 
Nep. Att. 2, idoyieum tempus ratus 
studiis obsequendi suis, Athenas se 
contulit ; also ibid. Hie ita vixit, ut 
universis Atheniensibus merito esset 
carissimus ; ibid. 4, Sic enim Graece 
loquebatur ut Athenis natus videretur. 

hiimanitatem. Derived from hu- 
manus, that which becomes a man, 



CHAPTER I. 



47 



prudentiam intellego. Et tamen te suspicor eisdem rebus 
quibus ine ipsum interdum gravius commoveri, quarum con- 
solatio et maior est et in aliud tempus differenda. Nunc aut- 
em visum est mihi de senecttite aliquid ad te eonscnbere. Hoc 
enim onere, quod mihi commune tecum est, aut iam urgen- 5 
tis aut certe adventantis senectutis et te et me etiam ipsum 
levari volo ; etsi te quidem id modice ac sapienter, sicut om- 
nia, et ferre et laturum esse certo scio. Sed mihi, cum de 
senectute vellem aliquid scribere, tu occurrebas digaus eo 
munere, quo uterque nostrum commtiniter uteretur. Mihi 10 
quidem ita iucunda huius librl confectio fuit, ut non modo 
omnTs absterserit senectutis molestias, sed effecerit moUem 
etiam et iucundam senectutem. ISTumquam igitur satis digne 
laudarl philosophia poterit, cui qui pareat, omne tempus 
aetatis sine molestia possit degere. Sed de ceteris et diximus 15 
multa et saepe dicemus ; hunc librum ad te de senectute 
misimus. Omnem autem sermonem tribuimus non Tithono, 



culture. Cf . the English ' ' humanity ' ' 
in the sense of "liberal education," 
and '' the humanities " equivalent to 
*' branches of polite learning," espe- 
cially ''the classics." 

commune. Cicero was sixty-two, 
Atticus sixty-five. 

senectutis. The Romans divided 
the life of man into the following 
periods, each of the first four about 
fifteen years in length : pueritia^ adu- 
lescentia, inventus, aetas seniorum, 
senectus. Some of these terms were 
occasionally used loosely, without 
strict regard for the exact divisions 
of human life to which they techni- 
cally belonged. 

modice. What substantive has 
Cicero previously employed to de- 



note this same characteristic of 
Atticus ? 

certo. How does this differ in 
force from certe? 

iucundam. This effect does not 
seem to have been lasting; cf. Ad 
Att. XIV. 21, 3, Legendus mihi sae- 
pius est Cato maior ad te missus. 
Amariorem enim me senectus facit. 
Stomachor omnia. 

laudari philosophia poterit. For 
Cicero's high opinion of philosophy, 
cf. Tusc. V. 2, 5, vitae philosophia 
dux! virtutis indagatrix expul- 
trixque vitiorum ! 

Tithono. The son of Laomedon 
and husband of Aurora. In answer 
to her prayers, Jupiter granted him 
length of days, but not immortal 



48 



CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE. 



ut Aristo Cms (parum enim esset auctoritatis in fabula), 
sed M. Catoni senl, quo maiorein auctoritatem haberet 
oratio ; apud quein Laelium et Scipionem facimus ad- 
mirantis, quod is tain facile senectutem ferat, eisque eum 
respondentem. Qui si eruditius videbitur disputare quam 5 
consuevit ipse in suis libris, attribuito litteris Graecis, 
quarum constat eum perstudiosum fuisse in senectute. Sed 
quid opus est pltira ? lam enim ipsius Catonis sermo 
ex.plicabit nostram omnem de senectute sententiam. 

II. 

SciPio. Saepe numero admirari soleo cum hoc C. Laelio lo 
cum ceterarum rerum tuam excellentem, M. Cato, perfec- 
tamque sapientiam, tum vel maxime, quod numquam tibi 
senectutem gravem esse senserim, quae plerisque senibus 
sic odiosa est, ut onus se Aetna gravius dicant sustinere. 



youth. After a very feeble old age 
he was turned into a cicada^ " katy- 
did." For a fine rendering of this 
story, see Tennyson's Tithonus: — 
The woods decay, the woods decay 

and fall, 
The vapors weep their burthen to 

the ground, 
Man comes and tills the field and 

lies beneath, 
And after many a summer dies the 

swan. 
Me only cruel immortality 
Consumes : I wither slowly in thine 

arms, 
Here at the quiet limit of the world, 
A white-hair' d shadow roaming like 

a dream 
The ever silent spaces of the East, 
Far-folded mists, and gleaming halls 

of morn. 



Aristo. A peripatetic philosopher 
of Ceos, one of the Cyclades. He 
flourished about 225 b.c. His writ- 
ings have been lost. 

suis libris. Cato wrote a treatise 
on farming, De Be Bustica ; a his- 
torical work, Origines ; and many 
orations. See Introduction, p. 35. 

litteris GraecTs : cf . YIII. 26, qui 
litteras Graecas senex didici; also 
Plut. Cato, 2, waLdeias 'EWtjvlktjs 
6\f/LiuLadT]s yev^crdaL Xiyerai. Pliny, N". H, 
XXIX. 8, says, however, that Cato 
regarded it satis esse ingenia Grae- 
corum inspicere.) non perdiscere. Cf. 
Cic. De Orat. III. 33, 135, Quid enim 
M. Catoni praeter hanc politissimam 
doctrinam transmarinam atque ad- 
venticiam defuitf 

Aetna gravius. Cicero undoubt- 
edly had in mind Euripides, Here. 



CHAPTER II. 



49 



Cato. Eem haud sane difl&cilem, Sclpio et Laeli, admi- 
rarl videmini. Quibus enim nihil est in ipsis opis ad bene 
beateque vivendum, eis omnis aetas gravis est ; qui autem 
omnia bona a se ipsi petunt, eis nihil malum potest videri, 
quod naturae necessitas adferat. Quo in genere est in 5 
primis senectus ; quam ut adipiscantur omnes optant, ean- 
dem accusant adeptam; tanta est stultitiae inconstantia 
atque perversitas. Obrepere aiunt eam citius, quam putas- 
sent. Primum quis coegit eos falsum putare ? Qui enim 
citius adulescentiae senectus quam pueritiae adulescentia 10 



Fur. 637, "old age, a burden heavier 
than lofty Aetna." According to an 
ancient myth, the Giants, overcome 
in their contest with the gods, were 
buried under Aetna. Cf. Yerg. Aen. 
III. 578-581 : — 

Fama est Enceladi semiustum fulmine 

corpus 
Urgueri mole hac, ingentemque insu- 

per Aetnam 
Impositam ruptis flammam exspirare 

caminis ; 

also Hor. Odes III. 4, 73-76, Iniecta 
monstris Terra dolet suis, . . . nee 
peredit Impositam celer ignis Aetnam, 
Longfellow relates the story of Ence- 
ladus in a poem bearing that name : 

Under Mount Aetna he lies, 
It is slumber, it is not death. 

Allusions to the height and fires of 
Aetna passed into proverbial expres- 
sions ; cf. Plant. Mil. Glor. 1065, 
Aetna non aeque alta est ; Verg. Aen, 
VII. 786, Aetnaeos efflantem fauci- 
hus ignes. 

in ipsis opis. It was a fundamen- 
tal doctrine of the Stoics that man 
ought to find the means for a happy 

DE SENEC. — 4 



life in virtue alone and not in any 
form of material wealth. Cf. Cic. 
Tusc. Y. 14, 42, Qui autem poterit 
esse celsus, et erectus, et ea, quae 
homini accidere possunt^ omnia parva 
ducenSj qualem sapientem esse vo- 
lumus, nisi omnia sibi in se posita 
censehitf 

Obrepere . . . putassent. The 
sentiment is true to nature. Cf. 
Bryant's The Old Mail's Counsel^ 
lines 59-65 : — 

Slow pass our days 
In childhood, and the hours of light 

are long 
Betwixt the morn and eve ; with 

swifter lapse 
They glide in manhood, and in age 

they fly ; 
Till days and seasons flit before the 

mind 
As flit the snow-flakes in a winter 

storm, 
Seen rather than distinguished. 

adulescentiae. See on senectutis^ 
p. 47 ; adulescentia here includes in- 
ventus. In like manner senectus is 
often used where greater exactness 



50 



CATO MAIOR DE SEXECTUTE. 



obrepit ? Deinde qui minus gravis esset eis senectus, si 
octingentesimum annum agerent quam si octogesimum? 
Praeterita enim aetas quamvis longa cum effltixisset, nulla 
consolatio permulcere posset stultam senecttitem. Quo- 
circa si sapientiam meam admirarl soletis (quae utinam 
digna esset opinione vestra nostroque cognomine !), in lioc 
sumus sapientes, quod naturam optimam ducem tamquam 
deum sequimur elque paremus ; a qua non veri simile est, 
cum ceterae partes aetatis bene descriptae sint, extremum 
actum tamquam ab inert! poeta esse neglectum. Sed tamen 



10 



would require two terms, aetas seni- 
orum and senectus (in the restricted 
sense). 

opinione . . . cognomine. Note 
the chiasmus. Cato received the sur- 
name Sapiens on account of his prac- 
tical wisdom, as manifested in his 
pithy sayings; cf. De Am. II. 6, in 
which Eannius says Cato was called 
wise, quia multarum rerum usum 
habehat. 

naturam optimam ducem. The 
Stoics taught that man ought to live 
in accordance with nature. By na- 
tura they meant the law of man's 
being, *' right reason" applied to 
human conduct. They believed it 
possible for man to learn by observa- 
tion and self-study the constitution of 
his being, and the natural law to 
which he was in duty bound to con- 
form his life. Cf. De Am. Y. 19, 
naturam optimam bene vivendi ducem ; 
De Off. III. 3, quod summum bonum 
a Stoicis dicitur^ convenienter na- 
turae vivere ; De Leg. I. 6, Ista (na- 
tura) duce errari nullo pacto potest. 

extremum actum. The last act 
of the drama of life ; for other in- 



stances of this figure, cf. XVIII. 64 ; 
XIX. 70 ; XXIII. 85. The compari- 
son of life to a play is of very frequent 
occurrence in ancient and modern 
literature. Cf. Shakespeare's well- 
known lines. As You Like It, Act II. 
sc. 7, 

All the world's a stage, 
And all the men and women merely 
players ; 

also The Merchant of Venice^ Act I. 
sc. 1, 

I hold the world but as the world, 

Gratiano ; 
A stage, where every man must 

play a part ; 

Macbeth, Act V. sc. 5, 

Life's but a walking shadow ; a 

poor player. 
That struts and frets his hour upon 

the stage 
And then is heard no more ; 

Thos. Heywood, Apology for Actors, 

The world's a theater, the earth a 

stage 
Which God and Nature do with 

actors fill. 



CHAPTER III. 



51 



necesse fuit esse aliquid extremuni et tamquam in arborum 
bacTs terraeque frtictibus maturitate tempestiva quasi vie- 
tum et cadticum, quod ferundum est molliter sapient!. 
Quid est enim aliud Gigantum modo bellare cum dls nisi 
naturae repugnare ? 5 

6 Laelius. AtquT, Cato, gratissimuni nobis, ut etiam pro 
Scipione pollicear, feceris, si, quoniam speramus, volumus 
quidem certe senes fieri, multo ante a te didicerimus, quibus 
facillinie rationibus ingravescentem aetatem ferre possimus. 

Cato. Faciam vero, Laeli, praesertim si utrlque vestrum, 10 
ut dicis, gratum futurum est. 

Laelius. Volumus sane, nisi molestum est, Cato, tam- 
quam longam aliquam viam confeceris, quam nobis quoque 
ingrediundum sit, isttic, quo pervenisti, videre quale sit. 

III. 

7 Cato. Faciam, ut potero, Laell. Saepe enim interfui is 
querells aequalium meorum (pares autem vetere proverbio 



Volumus. With this passage, cf. 
Plato's Bepublic, I. 328 (Jowett's 
translation): "Socrates. 'There is 
nothing which I like better, Cephalus, 
than conversing with aged men like 
yourself ; for I regard them as travel- 
ers who have gone a journey which 
I too may have to go, and of whom I 
ought to inquire, whether the way is 
smooth and easy, or rugged and diffi- 
cult. And this is a question which I 
should like to ask of you who have 
arrived at that time which the poets 
call the threshold of old age, — is life 
harder towards the end, or what re- 
port do you give of it ? ' " 

vetere proverbio. Cf. Homer, 
Od. XVII. 218, "Thus ever doth 



some god join like with like''; 
Plato's Bep. I. 329 (Jowett's Trans.), 
"Old men flock together; they are 
birds of a feather, as the proverb 
says"; Phaedrus, 240, "Equals, as 
the proverb says, delight in equals " ; 
Symposium^ 195, "He is not a bird 
of that feather ; youth and love live 
and move together, — like to like, as 
the proverb says" ; so Ter. Heaut. 
419, Nos quoque senes est aequom 
senibus obsequi; Hor. Ep. I. 6, 25, 
ut coeat par iungaturque pari; Liv. 
I. 46, 7, Contrahit celeriter similitudo 
eos, ut fere fit ; malum malo aptissi- 
mum ; Quint. Y. 11, 41, e^ apud Cice- 
ronem, Pares autem . . . congre- 
gantur ; Amm. Marcell. XXVIII, 1, 



62 



CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE. 



cum paribus facillime congregantur), quae C. Salmator, 
quae Sp. Albinus, homines consulares, nostri fere aequales^ 
deplorare solebant^ turn quod voluptatibus carerent, sine 
quibus vitam nullam putarent, turn quod spernerentur ab 
els, a quibus essent coli solitl. Qui mihi non id videbantur 5 
acctisare, quod esset acctisandum. Nam si id culpa senec- 
ttitis accideret, eadem mihi tisu venirent reliquisque omni- 
bus maioribus' natu, quorum ego multorum cognovi senec- 
ttitem sine querela, qui se et libldinum vinculls laxatos esse 
non moleste ferrent nee a suis despicerentur. Sed omnium 10 
istius modi querelarum in moribus est culpa, non in aetate. 
Moderati enim et nee difficiles nee inhumani senes tolera- 
bilem senectutem agunt, importtinitas autem et inhtima- 
nitas omni aetati molesta est. 

Laelius. Est, ut dicis, Cato ; sed fortasse dixerit quis- 15 
piam tibi propter opes et copias et dignitatem tuam tole- 
rabiliorem senectutem videri, id autem non posse multis 
contingere. 

Cato. Est istud quidem, Laeli, aliquid, sed nequaquam 
in isto sunt omnia. Ut Themistocles fertur Serlphio cui- 20 



63, ut Solent pares facile congregari 
cum paribus. 

facillime. In the sense of liben- 
tissime. This chapter to § 9 is a very 
close imitation of Plato's Bepublic, I. 
329-330. 

C. Salinator. C. Livius Salinator 
was about four years younger than 
Cato. He commanded the Koman 
fleet against Antiochus, 191 b.c, and 
was consul 188 b.c. 

Sp. Albinus. Sp. Postumius Al- 
binus held the consulship, 186 b.c. 

Sed omnium . . . molesta est. 
Cf. Plato's Bep. I. 329, ''And of 



these regrets, as well as of the com- 
plaint about relations, Socrates, the 
cause is to be sought, not in men's 
ages, but in their characters and 
tempers ; for he who is of a calm 
and happy nature will hardly feel 
the pressure of age, but he who is 
of an opposite disposition will find 
youth and age equally a burden." 

Themistocles. A celebrated 
Athenian general and statesman, 
born about the year 614 b.c. As 
soon as he was old enough to take 
part in public affairs, he revealed an 
overmastering ambition for brilliant 



CHAPTER III. 



53 



dam in iurgio respondisse, cum ille dixisset non eum sua, 
sed patriae gloria splendorem adsecutum : ' Nee hercule/ 
inquit, ' si ego Seriphius ess em, nee tu sT Atheniensis, 
clarus umquam fuisses.' Quod eodem modo de senecttite 
dici potest. Nee enim in summa inopia levis esse senecttis 5 
potest ne sapient! quidem nee insipienti etiam in summa 
copia non gravis. Aptissima omnino sunt, Scipio et Laell, 
arma senectutis artes exercitationesque virtutum, quae in 
omni aetate cultae, cum diu multumque vixeris, mirificos 
ecferunt fructus, non solum quia numquam deserunt, ne lo 
extremo quidem tempore aetatis (quamquam id quidem maxi- 
mum est), yerum etiam quia conscientia bene actae vitae 
multorumque bene factorum recordatio iticundissima est. 



display and personal glory. He 
arrayed himself against many of the 
leaders of the state and manifested 
bitter hostility to Aristides the Just, 
upon whose ostracism he became the 
leading spirit in the political affairs 
of Athens. Special credit was due 
him for his wise course in building 
up the Athenian fleet, which he com- 
manded with marked success in the 
great battle of Salamis, 480 b.c. But 
after a long career of self-seeking and 
political trickery, Themistocles was 
ostracised by his fellow-citizens, 471 
B.C., on charges of bribery and extor- 
tion. To escape trial for treason, in 
which he had been implicated, he fled 
to the Persian court in 465 b.c, and 
there by his brilliant talents gained 
the favor of the king and enjoyed the 
wealth and honor of a prince until 
the close of his life in 449 b.c. The 
report that he brought on death by 
poison has gained some currency but 



lacks any substantial proof. He was 
honored with a monument in the city 
of Magnesia, in which he had spent 
the last years of his life. Themisto- 
cles was, in a word, a man of marked 
ability, but utterly devoid of charac- 
ter. 

Seriphio. An inhabitant of Seri- 
phus, a small island in the Aegean 
Sea, now Seifo. The island was of 
very little importance. 

eum. Themistocles. This story 
is taken from Plato's Bepicblic, I. 
330. It is also found in Plutarch's 
life of Themistocles. Herodotus, 
Yin. 125, relates the same incident 
in substance, but he differs from 
this account in some of the minor 
points. 

Quod eodem . . . dici potest. 
Cf. Plato, Bep. I. 330, ''And to those 
who are not rich and are impatient 
of old age, the same reply may be 
made." 



64 



CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE. 



IV. 

10 Ego Q. Maximum^ eum qui Tarentum recepit, senem 
adulescens ita dilexi^ ut aequalem ; erat enim in illo viro 
comitate condita gravitas, nee senectus mores mutaverat. 
Quamquam eum colere coepi non admodum grandem natu, 
sed tamen iam aetate provectum. Anno enim post consul 5 
primum fuerat^ quam ego natus sum^ cumque eo quartum 
consule adulescentulus miles ad Capuam profectus sum 
quintoque anno post ad Tarentum. Quaestor deinde qua- 
driennio post factus sum, quem magistratum gessi consulibus 
Tuditano et CethegOj cum quidem ille admodum senex 10 



Q. Maximum. Q. Fabius Maxi- 
mus Verrucosus was one of the most 
prominent figures in the history of 
Rome during the last quarter of the 
third century b. c. He was honored 
with the censorship in 230, with the 
dictatorship, 221 and 217, and with the 
consulship five times, 233, 228, 215, 
214, 209 B.C. Fabius was the chief 
of the Roman envoys to Carthage at 
the outbreak of the Second Punic 
War, and it was he who played the 
principal part in the scene so dra- 
matically set forth by Livy, XXI. 18, 
Turn Bomanus, sinu ex toga facto. 
'' Hic^^ inqiiit, 'vobis helium et pacem 
portamus : utrum placet^ sumite.'' 
Appointed Dictator after the battle 
of Trasumennus, he inaugurated his 
famous policy of "delay," by which 
he hoped to break down Hannibal's 
strength without risking a pitched 
battle. From this plan, which he so 
persistently followed himself and 
urged upon other commanders, he 
received the surname Cunctator. 



After the disaster to the Roman 
arms at Cannae, 216 b.c, Fabius 
was for many years the mainstay 
of the government and people. He 
died in 203 b.c. at an advanced age 
and with his fame overshadowed at 
the last by the greater success of the 
more aggressive Scipio. 

Anno . . . quadriennio post fac- 
tus sum. The following are the 
dates referred to in the passage : — 

B.C. 234. Birth of Cato. 

" 233. Fabius' first consulship. 

" 214. " fourth " 

" 214. Cato, a common soldier 
(jniles) at Capua. 

" 209. Cato with Fabius at the 
recapture of Taren- 
tum. 

" 204. Cato, Quaestor. 

" 204. Tuditanus and Cethe- 
gus, Consuls. 

Tuditano et Cethego. P. Sem- 
pronius Tuditanus and M. Cornelius 
Cethegus. For the date of their con- 



CHAPTER lY. 



55 



suasor legis Cinciae de donls et muneribus fuit. Hie et 
bella gerebat ut adulescens, cum plane grandis esset, et 
Hannibalem iuveniliter exsultantem patientia sua molliebat; 
de quo praeclare familiaris noster Ennius : 

Unus homo nobis cunctando restituit rem. 

Noenum rumores ponebat ante salutem. 

Ergo plusque magisque viri nunc gloria claret. 



sulship, see above. Note the connec- 
tive et. When the praenomina are 
expressed the names generally stand 
without any conjunction. 

legis Cinciae. M. Cincius Ali- 
mentus, Tribune of the plebs, 204 
B.C., secured the passage of this law, 
by which advocates were forbidden 
to take fees from their clients. It 
was nominally in force until the time 
of the Emperor Claudius, though 
often evaded in various ways. Taci- 
tus, Ann. XI. 6, thus alludes to it, 
consurgunt patres legemque Cinciam 
flagitant, qua cavetur antiquitus, ne 
quis ob causam orandam pecuniam 
donumve accipiat, 

Hannibalem. Hannibal was un- 
doubtedly one of the greatest generals 
in the world's history. Taught by 
his father Hamilcar to hate the 
Romans, he remained until the day 
of his death their bitterest foe. Had 
he been loyally supported by his own 
government, he might have been in- 
strumental in changing the subse- 
quent course of history. He will 
always be noted in military annals 
for his famous passage of the Alps 
and his overwhelming victories at 
Trasumennus and Cannae. For the 
manner of his death, see on Flami- 
ninus, p. 46. 



iuveniliter. Hannibal entered 
Italy, 218 b.c, at the age of twenty- 
nine, and was recalled to Carthage 
sixteen years later. 

patientia. This refers to Fabius' 
"staying" qualities, to his stubborn 
persistence in one definite plan of 
tiring out Hannibal. 

Ennius. Ennius, sometimes called 
"the father of Roman poetry," was 
born at Rudiae in Calabria, 239 b.c. 
A¥hile serving as a soldier in Sar- 
dinia, near the close of the Second 
Punic War, he won the friendship of 
Cato, and was taken by him to Rome. 
Ennius was versed in Latin, Greek, 
and Oscan, and found opportunity in 
the busy life of the metropolis to 
turn his linguistic knowledge to prac- 
tical account, as teacher and play- 
wright. For his great work, the 
Annals, see p. 45. 

tJnus homo. These lines are 
from the eighth book of the Annales. 
They are quoted again by Cicero, De 
Off. I. 24 ; Vergil, Aen. VI. 846, bor- 
rows the first line, 

Tu Maximus ille es, 
Unus qui nobis cunctando restituis 
rem ; 

cf. also Livy, XXX. 26, Sic nihil 
certius est, quam nnum hominem 



56 



CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE. 



11 Tarentum vero qua vigilantia, quo consilio recepit ! cum 
quidem me audiente Salinatori^ qui amisso oppido ftigerat 
in arcem, glorianti atque ita dicent! : ' Mea opera, Q. Fabi, 
Tarentum recepisti': ^Certe/ inquit ridens, ^nam nisi tu 
amisisses, numquam recepissem/ Nee vero in armis prae- 
stantior quam in toga ; qui consul iterum Sp. Carvilio conlega 
quiescente C. Flaminio tribtino plebis, quoad potuit, restitit 



nobis cunctando rem restituisse, sicut 
Ennius ait; Ov. Fast. II. 240-2, 

Unus de Fabia gente relictus erat, 
Scilicet ut posses olim tu, Maxime, 
nasci, 
Cui res cunctando restituenda f oret. 

Salinatori. This is M. Livius 
Salinator, consul in 219 b.c. and 
father of the Salinator mentioned in 
III. 7. He was given the nickname 
Salinator^ because of the salt-tax 
which he instituted when censor, 204 
B.C. In his second consulship, in 207 
B.C., he commanded the Romans in 
the fierce battle of the Metaurus, 
which resulted in the defeat and 
death of the Carthaginian general 
Hasdrubal, brother of Hannibal. This 
bloody struggle proved to be, in 
fact, the turning point in the war, 
and is now regarded as one of the 
world's decisive battles. (See 
Creasy's Fifteen Decisive Battles.) 
But Cicero is probably in error in con- 
necting Salinator with the incident 
here related. We learn from Livy, 
XXVII. 34, 7, that M. Livius Maca-- 
tus commanded the garrison at Ta- 
rentum when the city was treacher- 
ously delivered to Hannibal, 212 
B.C. Cicero was very likely misled 
by the fact that the first two names 



were identical and that the com- 
mander was called in the records 
simply Marcus Livius. Macatus held 
the citadel until the town was re- 
taken by Fabius. The words Mea 
opera y etc., were probably uttered 
during a debate in the senate to de- 
cide whether the commander should 
be praised for holding the citadel, or 
censured for losing the city. The 
latter was the outcome of the discus- 
sion. 

Sp. Carvilio. Sp. Carvilius Maxi- 
mus was consul in 234, and again in 
228 B.C. 

C. Flaminio tribuno plebis. 
Flaminius was tribune of the people 
and secured the passage of this 
law in 232 b.c, four years be- 
fore Fabius' second consulship. The 
easiest way to get over the apparent 
contradiction is to suppose that 
Flaminius was appointed a special 
officer to aid in carrying out the pro- 
visions of his agrarian law, and that 
he continued in the performance of 
these duties until the year 228 b.c 
Flaminius held the consulship in 220, 
and again in 217 b.c In the latter 
year he was defeated and slain at 
Lake Trasumennus as the result of 
his own rash folly. Cf. Cic. Brut. 
14, 57, Dicitur etiam C. Flaminius, 



CHAPTER IV. 



67 



agrum Picentem et Gallicum viritim contra senatiis aucto- 
ritatem dividenti ; augurque cum esset, dicere ausus est 
optimis auspiciis ea geri, quae pro rei publicae salute gere- 
rentur; quae contra rem publicam ferrentur, contra auspicia 
12 ferri. Multa in eo viro praeclara cognovi ; sed nihil admi- 
rabilius, quam quo modo ille mortem fill tulit, clari viri 



is qui tribunus plebis legem de agro 
Gallico et Piceno viritim dividundo 
tulit^ qui consul apud Trasumennum 
est interfectus, ad populum valuisse 
dicendo. 

agrum Picentem et Gallicum. 
The territory included Picenum and 
a portion of Umbria. The Senonian 
Gauls had been driven from this 
region by the Romans. Livy gives 
this as one reason v^hy the Gallic 
chiefs would not promise the Roman 
envoys to prevent Hannibal from 
marching through Gaul to Italy ; cf . 
Liv. XXI. 20, 6, Contra ea audire 
sese, gentis suae homines agro fini- 
busque Italiae pelli a populo Bomano, 

augur. The public augurs con- 
sulted the omens and decided v^hether 
they were favorable or unfavorable. 
In course of time they acquired 
almost unlimited power. Every act 
of the government, including the pas- 
sage of laws, the election of officers, 
and the declaration of war, depended 
upon the auspices. Nothing could be 
done by the magistrates unless the 
omens were favorable. With their 
exclusive right to interpret the lat- 
ter, the augurs practically ruled the 
state. The number in the college was 
nine in Cato's time, but was increased 
ultimately to sixteen. The members 
were chosen for life. It is said that 



Fabius held the sacred office sixty- 
two years. The omens were deter- 
mined in five ways : by the appear- 
ance of the heavens ; the singing and 
flight of birds ; the feeding of the 
sacred chickens ; from the sudden 
or unusual appearance of animals (a 
private omen) ; from various occur- 
rences, such as accidents, noises, 
sneezing, stumbling, and the like. 

optimis auspiciis. Cf. Cic. De 
Leg. III. 3, 8, salus populi suprema 
lex esto. Gernhard, followed by many 
editors, compares Hector's words, 
Hom. II. XII. 243 (Bryant's transla- 
tion) : — 

Thou dost ask 
That I be governed by the flight of 

birds. 
Which I regard not, whether to the 

right 
And toward the morning and the sun 

they fly. 
Or toward the left and evening. We 

should heed 
The will of mighty Jupiter, who bears 
Rule over gods and men. One augury 
There is, the surest and the best, — 

to fight 
For our own land. 

fHi. He bore his father's name, 
Q. Fabius Maximus, and was consul 
213 B.C., the year following his 
father's fourth consulship. 



58 



CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE. 



et consularis. Est in inanibus laudatio, quam cum legimus, 
quern philosophum non contemnimus ? Nee vero ille in 
luce modo atque in oculis civium magnus^ sed intus 
domlque praestantior. Qui sermo, quae praecepta, quanta 
notitia antiquitatis, scientia itiris auguri! Multae etiam, 
ut in homine Eomano, litterae ; omnia memoria tenebat non 
domestica solum, sed etiam externa bella. Cuius sermone 
ita turn cupide f ruebar, quasi iam divmarem, id quod evenit, 
illo exstincto fore, unde discerem, neminem. 



V. 

13 Quorsus igitur haec tam multa de Maximo ? Quia prof ecto lo 
videtis nefas esse dictti miseram fuisse talem senecttitem. 
Nee tamen omnes possunt esse Sclpiones aut Maximi, ut 
urbium expugnationes, ut pedestrls navalisve pugnas, ut bella 
a se gesta, ut triumphos recordentur. Est etiam quiete et 
pure atque eleganter actae aetatis placida ac lenis senectus, i5 
qualem accepimus Platonis, qui tino et octogesimo anno 



laudatio. Fabius pronounced the 
eulogy upon his own son. Funeral 
orations delivered by near relatives 
or intimate friends were preserved in 
the family archives. For the his- 
torical value of these addresses, see 
Cic. Brut. 16, 62, his laudationibus 
historia reriim nostrariim est facta 
mendosior; and Livy, YIII. 40, 
Vitiatam memoriam funebribus lau- 
dibus reor. 

Multae . . . litterae. On the late 
development of literature at Rome, 
compare the well-known lines of 
Horace, Ep. II. 1, 156-163, in which 
he refers the beginning of Roman 



letters to the years immediately fol- 
lowing the Second Punic War. 

illo eisstincto. He died in the 
year 203 b.c. 

Platonis. Plato was born in 
Athens 429 or 428 b.c. At the age 
of twenty he became a pupil of Soc- 
rates. After the latter' s death, he 
traveled extensively for about ten 
years, then returned to his native 
city, and a little later began to give 
instruction in philosophy to a band of 
young men who gathered about him 
in the grove of Academus. Cicero 
styles him deus philosophorum^ N. D. 
II. 12, 32. Plato was doubly fort- 



CHAPTER V. 



59 



scribens est mortuus, qualem Tsocratis, qui eum librum, qui 
Panathenaicus inscribitur, quarto et nonagesimo anno scrip- 
sisse se dicit vixitque quinquennium postea ; cuius magister 
Leontinus Gorgias centum et septem complevit annos 
neque umquam in suo studio atque opere cessavit. Qui, 
cum ex eo quaereretur, cur tarn diu vellet esse in vita: 
^ Nihil habeo/ inquit, ^quod acctisem senecttitem.' Prae- 
14 clarum responsum et docto homine dignum. Sua enim 
vitia insipientes et suam culpam in senectutem conf erunt ; 
quod non faciebat is, cuius modo mentionem feci, Ennius : 

Sicut fortis equus, spatio qui saepe supremo 
Vicit Olympia, nunc senio confectus quiescit. 



10 



unate in having Socrates for his 
teacher and Aristotle for his pupil. 

scribens est mortuus. Plato 
died 347 b.c, while writing. But 
according to another account, he 
died at a marriage feast to which he 
had been bidden as a guest. Nauck 
recalls the fact that Petrarch and 
Leibnitz also died with the pen in 
hand. 

isocratis. Isocrates was a dis- 
tinguished teacher of rhetoric and 
oratory, first at Chios, and later in 
Athens. He was the lifelong friend 
of Plato and a most devoted admirer 
of Socrates. Alone of all he dared 
to appear in mourning after the 
utterly unpardonable execution of 
the great philosopher. After the 
victory of Philip of Macedon in the 
battle of Chseronea, 338 b.c, Isocrates 
is said to have been so overcome with 
grief for the loss of Grecian liberty 
that he refused all food and died of 
voluntary starvation. To him, Mil- 
ton, in his tenth sonnet, refers : — 



Broke him, as that dishonest 

victory 
At Chaeronea, fatal to liberty. 
Killed with report that old man 

eloquent. 

Panathenaicus. An address in 
praise of Athens, written for the 
great Panathenaic festival, in which 
the less elaborate annual celebration 
was merged every fourth year. 

Leontinus Gorgias. Gorgias of 
Leo7itini, to be distinguished from 
Gorgias of Athens. He was born 
about 485 b.c, and lived, Cicero 
says to 107 years, but the authorities 
vary between 105 and 108. He was 
a famous teacher of rhetoric, and 
numbered Isocrates among his pupils. 
For his readiness to speak on any 
theme proposed for discussion, cf. 
Cic. De Fin. II. 1, Eorum erat iste 
mos, qui turn sophistae nominahan- 
tur : quorum e numero primus est 
ausus Leontinus Gorgias in con- 
ventu poscere quaestionem^ id est. 



60 



CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE. 



Equi fortis et victoris senectuti comparat suam. Quern 
quidem probe meminisse potestis ; anno enim undevicesimo 
post eius mortem hi consules, T. Mamininus et M\ Acilius, 
f acti sunt ; ille autem Caepione et Philippo iterum consuli- 
bus mortuus est, cum ego quinque et sexaginta annos natus 5 
legem Voconiam magna voce et bonis lateribus suasissem. 
Annos septuaginta natus (tot enim vTxit Ennius) ita fere- 
bat duo, quae maxima putantur, onera, paupertatem et 
senecttitem, ut eis paene delectari videretur. 
15 Etenim, cum complector animo, quattuor reperio causas, lo 
cur senecttis misera videatur : unam^ quod avocet a rebus 
gerendis; alteram, quod corpus faciat infirmius; tertiam, 
quod privet fere omnibus voluptatibus ; quartam, quod baud 
procul absit a morte. Earum, si placet, causarum quanta 
quamque sit itista una quaeque, videamus. 15 

VI. 

A rebus gerendis senectus abstrahit. Quibus ? An eis, 
quae iuventute geruntur et viribus ? Nullaene igitur res 
sunt seniles, quae vel infirmis corporibus animo tamen 
administrentur ? Nihil ergo agebat Q. Maximus, nihil 



inhere dicere, qua de re qiiis vellet 
aitdire. 

T. Flamininus. Probably the son 
of the Flam minus mentioned in I. 1. 

Caepione et Philippo iterum 
consulibus. Cn. ServiUus Caepio 
and Q. Marcius Philippus were con- 
suls 169 B.C. iterum applies only to 
Philippus, who had been consul for 
the first time in the year 186 b.c. 

legem Voconiam. The law was 
proposed by the tribune Q. Yoconius 
Saxa, 169 e.g. It provided; 1, That 



no one enrolled as having 100,000 
sesterces should make a woman his 
heir. 2, That no one enrolled should 
give in legacies more than would 
come to the heir or heirs, i.e, the 
heir or heirs should receive at least 
half the estate. The law was de- 
signed to check the extravagance of 
women by limiting their means, and 
also to keep the estate, as far as pos- 
sible, in the possession of the testa- 
tor's family. — Smith's Diet. Antiq. 
vol. II. s. V. Voc. Lex. 



CHAPTER VI. 



61 



L. Paulus, pater tuus, socer optimi viri, fill mei? Ceteri 
seiies, Fabricii, Ciirii, Coruncanii, cum rem ptiblicam consilio 
16 et auctoritate def endebant, nihil agebant ? Ad AppI Claudi 
senecttitem accedebat etiam, ut caecus esset ; tamen is, cum 
sententia senattis incliuaret ad pacem cum Pyrrli5 f oedusque 
faciendum, non dubitavit dicere ilia, quae versibus perse- 
cutus est Ennius : 



L. Paulus. L. Aemilius Panlus, 
consul 182 and 168 b.c. and censor 
164 B.C., received the surname Mace- 
donicus on account of his victory over 
Perseus, king of Macedonia, at tlie 
battle of Pydna, 168 b.c. He was 
the father of Scipio Africanus Minor. 
His death occurred 160 b.c, when he 
was nearly seventy years of age. 

fili. M. Porcius Cato, who died 
162 B.C., when praetor elect. He 
married Aemilia, daughter of Paulus. 

Fabricii, Curii, Coruncanii. 
" Such men as Fabricius, Curius, Co- 
runcanius." C. Fabricius Luscinus 
was consul 282, 278, and 273 b.c. and 
censor 275 b.c. He was prominent 
in the war against Pyrrhus, 280-275 
B.C., and won universal respect for 
his unswerving devotion to duty and 
his high conception of Roman honor, 
by refusing the proffered bribes of 
the king and scorning the promised 
assistaiice of a traitor who was ready 
to poison his master Pyrrhus. M'. 
Curius Dentatus, consul 290, 275, and 
274, and censor 272 b.c, ended the 
war with Pyrrhus by his victory over 
the latter at Ben even tum 275 b.c. 
Tiberius Coruncanius, consul in 280 
and Pontifex Maximus in 252 b.c 
(the first plebeian elected to that 
office), was especially noted as a 



jurist. He gained fewer military 
honors than Fabricius or Dentatus, 
but acquired great fame for his wis- 
dom and skill in expounding the law. 
These three distinguished Romans 
are often referred to by Cicero as 
types of their class. They possessed 
those qualities which contributed so 
materially to the nation's success, 
simplicity of life, integTity of purpose, 
and unfaltering patriotism. Cf . Hor. 
Odes, I. 12, 40-41. 

AppI Claudi. Appius Claudius, 
surnamed Caecus, the blind, was 
consul 307 and 296 b.c, but his 
fame rests principally upon his cen- 
sorship in 312 B.C., during which he 
constructed the Appian Way, "the 
queen of roads," from Rome to 
Capua, and also built the first aque- 
duct for the introduction of water to 
Rome. Pjn^rhus, after his victory 
at Heraclea, 280 b.c, sent Cineas to 
Rome to make peace. When the 
senators seemed inclined to accept 
his terms, Appius Claudius was car- 
ried into the senate-house and spoke 
against the proposed treaty with such 
power that it was rejected and the 
war continued. Cicero says of Appius, 
Tusc. Y. 38, 112, in illo suo casu nee 
privato, nee publico miineri defuisse. 

Pyrrho. See p. 80. 



62 



CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE. 



Quo vobis mentes^ rectae quae stare solebant 
Antehac, dementes sese flexere vial ? 

ceteraque gravissime; notum enim vobis carmen est; et 
tamen ipsius Appi exstat oratio. Atque haec ille egit 
septimo decimo anno post alterum consulatum, cum inter 5 
duos consulatus anni decem interfuissent censorque ante 
superiorem consulatum fuisset ; ex quo intellegitur Pyrrhl 
bello grandem sane fuisse ; et tamen sic a patribus accepi- 
lY mus. Nihil igitur adferunt, qui in re gerenda versari senec- 
ttitem negant, similes que sunt ut si qui gubernatorem in lo 
navigando nihil agere dicant, cum alii malos scandant, alii 
per foros cursent, alii sentinam exhauriant, ille autem 
clavum tenens quietus sedeat in puppi, non faciat ea, quae 
iuvenes. At vero multo maiora et meliora facit. Non 
viribus aut velocitate aut celeritate corporum res magnae i5 
geruntur, sed consilio^ auctoritate, sententia; quibus non 

18 modo non orbari, sed etiam augeri senecttis solet. Nisi 
forte ego vobis, qui et miles et tribunus et legatus et consul 
versatus sum in vario genere bellorum, cessare nunc videor, 
cum bella non gero. At senatui, quae sint gerenda, prae- 20 
scribo et quo modo; Karthagini male iam diti cogitanti 
bellum multo ante denuntio ; de qua vereri non ante desi- 

19 nam quam illam excisam esse cognovero. Quam palmam 
utinam di immortales, Scipio, tibi reservent, ut avi reliquias 
persequare! cuius a morte tertius hic et tricesimus annus 25 



tribunus. Every legion had six 
military tribunes. Some were elect- 
ed by the comitia trihuta, while 
others were appointed by the com- 
mander. Young men of wealth and 
influence often secured these posi- 
tions, even though utterly lacking in 
military experience. This was espe- 



cially true near the close of the 
Republic. 

legatus. The legati were staff- 
officers and were, as a rule, men of 
senatorial rank, sometimes even ex- 
consuls. They were second in 
authority only to the commander- 
in-chief. 



CHAPTER VI. 



63 



est, sed memoriam illms virl omnes excipient annl conse- 
quentes. Anno ante me censorem mortiius est, novem annis 
post meum consulatnm, cum consul iterum me consule 
creatus esset. Num igitur, sT ad centesimum annum vlxis- 
set, senectutis eum suae paeniteret ? Nee enim excursione 5 
nee saltti nee eminus hastis aut comminus gladiis titeretur, 
sed consilio, ratione, sententia ; quae nisi essent in senibus, 
non summum consilium maiores nostri appellassent sena- 
20 turn. Apud Lacedaemonios quidem ei, qui amplissimum 
magistratum gerunt, ut sunt, sic etiam nominantur senes. lo 
Quod SI legere aut audire Yoletis externa, maximas res 
publicas ab adulescentibus labefactatas, a senibus susten- 
tatas et restittitas reperietis. 

Cedo, qui vestram rem publicam tantam amisistis tarn cito ? 

Sic enim percontantibus in Naevi poetae Ludo respondentur i5 
et alia et hoc in primis : 

Proveniebant oratores novi, stulti adulescentulT. 



SIC etiam . . . senes. The Spar- 
tan yepovaia, or council of state, con- 
tained twenty-eight members, all over 
sixty years of age. They were ap- 
pointed for life and were presided 
over by the two kings. The word 
etiam is added because the Lacedae- 
monians called the members of their 
assembly y^povres, old men^ while the 
Romans used a word of similar deri- 
vation, senator es^ but not the simple 
term senes. 

Naevi. Cn. Naevius, a younger 
contemporary of Rome's first poet 
Livius Andronicus, was born in Cam- 
pania, of Latin stock. The exact 
date of his birth is not known, but 



his literary activity began in 235 b.c. 
Fragments only of his dramatic com- 
positions, thirty-four comedies and 
seven tragedies, now remain. His 
greatest work was a historic poem on 
the Punic War, in which he had him- 
self been a soldier, and was written 
in the old Saturnian measure. From 
the few verses which are still extant 
it is impossible to form a fair estimate 
of its literary quality. 

novi. "inexperienced." Cf. Byron, 
Childe Harold, Canto II. 84 : — 

A thousand years scarce serve to form 

a State ^ 
An hour may lay it in the dust. 



64 



CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE. 



Temeritas est videlicet florentis aetatis, prudentia sene- 
scentis. 

VII. 

21 At memoria minuitur. Credo, nisi earn exerceas, aut eti- 
am SI SIS nattira tardior. Themistocles omnium civium peree- 
perat nomina; num igitur censetis eum, cum aetate processis- 5 
set, qui Aristides esset, Lysimachum saltitare solitum ? Equi- 
dem non modo eos noYi, qui sunt, sed eorum patres etiam 

et avos, nee sepulcra legens vereor, quod aiunt, ne memoriam 
perdam; his enim ipsTs legendis in memoriam redeo mor- 
tuorum. Nee vero quemquam senem audivi oblitum, quo 10 
loco thesaurum obruisset ; omnia, quae curant, meminerunt, 

22 vadimonia constittita, quis sibi, cui ipsi debeant. Quid? 
iuris consult!, quid? pontifices, quid? augures, quid? 



Temeritas . . . senescentis. Cf . 

Bacon's essay, Youth and Age, 
*' Generally youth is like the first 
cogitations, not so wise as the sec- 
ond." 

Themistocles. Themistocles was 
especially noted for his wonderful 
memory. That he did not always 
appreciate this gift may be inferred 
from Cic. De Fin. II. 32, 104, Themi- 
stocles quidem, cum ei Simonides, aut 
quis alius artem memoriae pollicere- 
tur : ^ Oblivionis,^ inquit, ^mallem; 
nam memini etiam quae nolo, obli- 
visci 7ion possum quae volo.'' 

Aristides. Aristides the Just, son 
of Lysimachus and contemporary of 
Themistocles, was a celebrated Athe- 
nian general and statesman. At the 
instigation of Themistocles, he was 
banished for a time, but recalled in 
the sixth year of his exile to assist in 



defending his country against the 
invading hosts of Xerxes. Before his 
ostracism he had fought at Marathon ; 
after his return he took part in the 
great battles of Salamis and Plataea. 
By his honesty and fidelity he won 
the respect of Athens and the neigh- 
boring Grecian states. After holding 
the highest positions of trust and 
honor, he died at an advanced age, 
leaving no wealth but his good name. 
iuris consult!. Men who ex- 
pounded the law and gave advice to 
those desiring it. Coruncanius (VI. 
15) was one of the earliest examples 
of this class. Until the establishment 
of the Empire, the opinions and writ- 
ings of the jurisconsults were of a pri- 
vate nature, without binding force ; 
but from the time of Augustus cer- 
tain men were given the right to 
interpret the statutes, and their opin- 



CHAPTER YIL 



65 



pMlosophi series quam multa meminerunt ! Manent ingenia 
senibus, modo permaneat studium et industria, neque ea 
solum in claris et honoratis virls, sed in vita etiam privata 
et quieta. Sophocles ad summam senecttitein tragoedias 
fecit; quod propter studium cum rem neglegere familia- 5 
rem videretur, a filiis in iudicium vocatus est, ut, quem ad 
modum nostro more male rem gerentibus patribus bonis in- 
terdici solet, sic ilium quasi desipientem a re familiar! remo- 
verent indices. Tum senex dicitur eam fabulam, quam in 
manibus habebat et proxime scripserat, Oedipum Coloneum, lo 
recitasse itidicibus quaesisseque num illud carmen desipientis 
videretur. Quo recitato sententiis iudicum est llberatus. 
23 Num igitur hunc, num Homerum, Hesiodum, Simonidem, 



ions had the authority of law. The 
Digest of Justinian's code was made 
up of extracts from the writings of 
eminent jurisconsults. 

Sophocles. Sophocles was born 
at Colonus, near Athens, 495 b.c. 
He was well endowed by nature and 
received the best training afforded by 
the schools of Athens. To intellec- 
tual powers of a high order he added 
the charms of a beautiful person and 
a genial disposition. At the age of 
20 he won the prize in tragic verse 
over the renowned Aeschylus, who 
was thirty years his senior, and from 
that time continued to be a success- 
ful competitor in the great literary 
contests of Greece, winning twenty 
first prizes and a still greater number 
of second. His death occurred 405 b.c. 
Of his numerous works, only seven 
tragedies have come down to us. 

Oedipum Coloneum. Oedipus 
at Colonus. Banished from Thebes, 



Oedipus wandered to the grove of the 
Furies at Colonus and there disap- 
peared from mortal view. Eor the 
story, see Class. Diet. s. v. Oedipus. 
It is now believed that the play was 
written by Sophocles many years be- 
fore and was only revised and enlarged 
at this time. 

Hesiodum. Hesiod, commonly 
assigned to the ninth century b.c, is 
second only to Homer in point of 
antiquity. Three works now pass 
under his name : Works and Days, 
the Theogony, and the Shield of 
Hercules. 

Simonidem. A lyric poet, who 
was born in Ceos, 556 b.c, and died 
at Syracuse, 469 b.c His most famous 
composition is the epitaph on the 
Spartans who fell at Thermopylae. 
Cicero, Tusc. I. 42, 101, gives this 
version of it : — 
Die, hospes, Spartae nos te hie vidisse 

iacentes 



DE SENEC. - 



66 



CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE. 



Stesicliorum, num^ quos ante dixi, Isocraten, Gorgian, num 
philosophorum prmcipes, Pythagoram, Democritum, num 
Platonem, mini Xenocraten, num postea Zenonem, Clean- 
them aut eum, quern vos etiam vidistis Eomae, Diogenem 
Stoicum, coegit in suis studiis obmtitescere senectus ? An 
24 in omnibus studiorum agitatio vltae aequalis f uit ? Age, ut 



Dum Sanctis patriae legibus obsequi- 
niur. 

Stesichorum. Stesichorus, a lyric 
poet of Himera in Sicily, 630-550 b.c. 

Pythagoram. Pythagoras of Sa- 
mos settled at Crotpna in Italy about 
529 B.C. and founded what is known 
as the Italic school of philosophy. 
He established a sort of religious 
brotherhood with strict rules of liv- 
ing, and taught the immortality and 
the transmigration of souls. The 
exact date of his death, like that of 
his birth, is unknown. 

Democritum. Democritus of Ab- 
dera in Tlirace was born about 460 b.c. 
and is said to have reached the age 
of 104. He was the principal ex- 
pounder of the atomic theory, which 
was originated by his friend Leucip- 
pus. He is known as the ''laughing 
philosopher." Mayor calls him the 
last of the " pre-Socratic dogmatists." 

Xenocraten. Xenocrates, who 
lived from about 396 to 314 b.c, was 
a pupil of Plato and became, after 
Speusippus, the leader of the Aca- 
demic school. 

Zenonem. Zeno of Citium in Cy- 
prus, founder of the Stoic school, 
began to teach in Athens, in the 
painted porch, about 308 b.c. He 
was probably about 50 years old at 



that time, and is said to have been 
98 at his death. 

Cleanthem. Cleanthes was the 
pupil of Zeno and then his successor 
as the head of the Stoic school. The 
accounts of his age vary, but indicate 
that he lived to be 80 or over. 

Diogenem Stoicum. Diogenes 
of Babylonia, called the Stoic to dis- 
tinguish him from the famous Cynic 
of the same name, came to Rome, 
155 B.C., with Carneades the Aca- 
demic and Critolaus the Peripatetic, 
to ask the remission of a fine imposed 
upon the Greeks for plundering the 
city of Oropus after the war with 
Perseus. Cato violently opposed 
these men. On the inconsistency 
here involved, see on eruditius, p. 115. 

Vltae aequalis fuit. Cf. with this 
Longfellow's Morituri Salutamus : — 

But why, you ask me, should this 
tale be told 

To men grown old, or who are grow- 
ing old ? 

It is too late ! Ah, nothing is too 
late 

Till the tired heart shall cease to 
palpitate. 

Cato learned Greek at eighty; Sopho- 
cles 

Wrote his grand Oedipus, and Si- 
monides 



CHAPTER YIT. 



67 



ista divina studia omittamiis, possum nominare ex agro 
Sablno rtisticos Eomanos, vicinos et familiares meos, quibus 
absentibus numquam fere ulla in agro maiora opera fiimt, 
non serendis, non percipiendis, non condendis fructibus. 
Quamquam in aliis minus hoc mirum est; nemo enim est 5 
tarn senex, qui se annum non putet posse vivere ; sed idem 
in els elaborant^ quae sciunt nihil ad se omnino pertinere : 

Serit arbores, quae alterl saeclo prosint, 

25 ut ait Statins noster in Synephebis. Nee vero dubitat 
agricola, quamvis sit senex, quaerenti, cui serat, respon- lo 



Bore off the prize of verse from his 

compeers, 
When each had numbered more 

than four score years, 
And Theophrastus, at four score 

and ten, 
Had but begun his Characters of 

Men. 
Chaucer, at Woodstock with the 

nightingales, 
At sixty wrote the Canterbury 

Tales ; 
Goethe at Weimar, toiling to the 

last, 
Completed Faust when eighty years 

were past. 
These are indeed exceptions ; but 

they show 
How far the gulf-stream of our 

youth may flow 
Into the arctic regions of our lives, 
Where little else than life itself sur- 
vives. 

Read Emerson's essay on Old Age, 
in which he says: "And if the life 
be true and noble, we have quite an- 
other sort of seniors than the frowzy, 



timorous, peevish dotards who are 
falsely old — namely, the men who 
fear no city, but by whom cities 
stand ; ... as blind old Dandolo, 
elected Doge at 84 years, storming 
Constantinople at 94, and after the 
revolt, again victorious, and elected 
at the age of 96 to the throne of the 
Eastern Empire, which he declined, 
and died Doge at 97." 

Statius noster. "Our fellow- 
countryman Statins." Caecilius Sta- 
tius was an Insubrian Gaul. The 
exact date of his birth and death can- 
not be determined. He was, how- 
ever, a contemporary of Ennius, and 
was brought to Rome 222 e.g. by 
Marcellus, the conqueror of the In- 
subrians. Through the generosity 
of his master he received both his 
freedom and a liberal education, and 
became the successor of Plautus as a 
writer of comedies. Like the other 
authors of his time, he followed Greek 
models pretty closely. Only frag- 
ments of his works now remain. 

Synephebis. Based upon Me- 
nander's livvecprj^oi, "The Young 



68 



CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE. 



dere : ^ Dis immortalibuSj qui me non accipere modo haec 
a maioribus voluerunt, sed etiam posteris prodere.' 



VIII. 

. Et melius Caecilius de sene alter! saeclo prospiciente 
quam illud Idem : 

Edepol, senecttis, si nil quicquam aliud viti 
Adportes tecum, cum advenis, tinum id sat est, 
Quod diti vivendo multa, quae non volt, videt. 

Et multa fortasse, quae volt ! atque in ea, quae non volt, 
saepe etiam adulescentia incurrit. Illud vero Idem Cae- 
cilius vitiosius : 



10 



Tum equidem in senecta hoc deputo miserrimum, 
Sentire ea aetate eumpse esse odiosum alteri. 

26 Iticundum potius quam odiosum. Ut enim adulescentibus 
bona indole praeditis sapientes senes delectantur leviorque 
fit senecttis eorum, qui a iuventute coluntur et dlliguntur, 15 
sic adulescentes senum praeceptis gaudent, quibus ad vir- 
tutum studia dticuntur ; nee minus intellego ine vobis quam 
mihi vos esse iucundos. Sed videtis, ut senecttis non modo 
languida atque iners non sit, verum etiam sit operosa et 
semper agens aliquid et moliens, tale scilicet, quale cuius- 20 
que studium in superiore vita fuit. Quid ? qui etiam addi- 
scunt aliquid? ut et Solonem versibus gloriantem videmus. 



Friends." Statins borrowed very 
freely from Menander (342-291 b.c), 
the leading writer of the New Com- 
edy. 

Edepol . . . videt. See Supple- 
mentary Notes, VIII. 26. 

Sol5nem. Solon, the famous law- 



giver of Athens and one of the seven 
wise men of Greece, flourished about 
600 B.C. Some authorities give his age 
as 100; others put it at 80. 

versibus. Given by Plutarch in 
his life of Solon, yripda-Koj 5' aid iroWd 

8L5a(TK6fJL€VOS. 



CHAPTER IX. 



69 



qui se cotidie aliquid addiscentem dicit senem fieri, et ego 
feci; qui litteras Graecas senex didici; quas quidem sTc 
avide arripui quasi diuturnam sitim explere cupiens, ut ea 
ipsa mihi nota essent, quibus me nunc exemplis titi videtis. 
Quod cum fecisse Socratem in fidibus audirem, vellem 5 
equidem etiam illud (discebant enim fidibus antiqui), sed 
in litteris certe elaboravi. 

IX. 

27 ISTec nunc quidem vires desidero adulescentis (is enim 
erat locus alter de vitiis senecttltis), non plus, quam adule- 
scens tauri aut elephant! desiderabam. Quod est, eo decet lo 
uti et, quicquid agas, agere pro viribus. Quae enim vox 
potest esse contemptior quam Milonis Crotoniatae ? qui 



litteras Graecas. '' Greek litera- 
ture." Cf. Quint. XII. li, 23; M. 
igitur Cato idem siimmus imperator^ 
idem sapiens^ idem orator^ idem hi- 
storiae conditor, idem iuris, idem 
rerum rusticarum 'peritissimus fiiit ; 
inter tot operas militiae, tantas domi 
contentiones^ rudi saeculo^ litteras 
Graecas aetate iam declinata didicit, 
ut esset hominihus documentor ea 
quoque peroipi posse^ quae senes con- 
cupissent. 

Socratem. After receiving the 
usual training given the Athenian 
youth of that period, Socrates 
followed the occupation of his father 
Sophroniscus as a sculptor. He held 
certain civil offices and served with 
distinction as a soldier, giving evi- 
dence of great courage and wonder- 
ful powers of endurance. With an 
experience thus varied he turned his 
attention in middle life to philosophy, 
and from that time sought to teach 



men in his own peculiar manner the 
true philosophy of life. Ridiculed 
and maligned for his new doctrines, 
he was at last brought to trial on a 
charge of impiety and condemned by 
an unrighteous judgment to drink the 
fatal hemlock. For Socrates' influ- 
ence on Greek philosophy, see Intro- 
duction, p. 18 ; for a full account of 
his life, see Smith's Dictionary of 
Biographij. 

Milonis. Milo, a pupil of Pythag- 
oras and a celebrated athlete, flour- 
ished in the last quarter of the sixth 
century b.c. He won the victor's 
crown seven times at the Pythian 
games and six at the Olympic. For 
an account of his exploits and his 
marvelous appetite, see Class. Diet. 
Gellius, XV. 16, relates the story of 
his tragic death in the forest, after 
attempting in vain to tear apart an 
oak log that had been partly cleft by 
wedges. 



70 



CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE. 



ciim iam senex esset athletasque se exercentis in curriculo 
videret, aspexisse lacertos suos dicitur inlacrimansque 
dixisse ' At hi quidem mortul iam sunt.' Non vero tarn 
isti quam tti ipse, nugator! neque enim ex te umquam 
es nobilitatus, sed ex lateribus et lacertis tuis. Nihil Sex. 5 
Aelius tale, nihil multis annis ante Ti. Coruncanius, nihil 
modo P. Crassus, a quibus itira civibus praescrlbebantur ; 
quorum usque ad extremum splritum est provecta prti- 

28 dentia. Orator metuo ne languescat senectute; est enim 
mtinus eius non ingeni solum, sed laterum etiam et virium. lo 
Omnino canorum illud in voce splendescit etiam nescio 
quo pacto in senectute, quod equidem adhtic non amisi, et 
videtis annos. Sed tamen est decorus sen! sermo quietus 

et remissus, facitque per se ipsa sibi audientiam diserti 
senis composita et mitis oratio. Quam si ipse exsequT i5 
nequeas, possTs tamen ScipionT praecipere et Laelio. Quid 
enim est iticundius senectute stipata studiis iuventtitis ? 

29 An ne illas quidem vires senectuti relinquemus, ut adule- 
scentis doceat, Tnstituat, ad omne offici mtinus mstruat ? 
qu5 quidem opere quid potest esse praeclarius ? Mihi vero 20 
et On, et P. Scipiones et avi tui duo, L. Aemilius et P. 



Sex. Aelius. Sex. Aelius Paetus, 
consul 198 and censor 194 b.c, was 
one of the most distinguished of the 
early jurists. He wrote a commen- 
tary upon the XII. Tables. Cicero, 
Brut. 78, thus speaks of him, Sex. 
Aelius., iiiris quidem civilis omnium 
peritissimus, sed etiam ad dicendum 
paratus. 

P. Crassus. P. Licinius Crassus, 
consul 205 b.c, was noted for his 
great legal attainments, on account of 
which he was chosen Pontifex Maxi- 
mus. He also held the offices of 



praetor and censor, and served in 
the war against Hannibal. As he 
died in 183 b.c, thirty-three years 
before the supposed date of this dia- 
logue, modo must be understood in 
a relative sense, *'in later times," as 
opposed to multis annis ante. 

Cn. et P. Scipiones. Cn. Cor- 
nelius Scipio, uncle of Africanus 
Maior, was consul in 222 b.c; P. 
Cornelius Scipio, father of Africanus, 
was consul 218 b.c and commanded 
the Komans in the battle of the Tici- 
nus. The two brothers served several 



CHAPTER IX. 



71 



Africanus, comitatti nobilium iuvenum fortunati videban- 
tur, nee uUi bonarum artium magistri non beat! putandi, 
quamvis eonsenuerint vires atque defecerint. EtsI ipsa 
ista defectio virium adulescentiae vitiis efficitur saepius 
quam seDecttitis ; libidinosa enim et intemperans adule- 5 
30 scentia effetum eorpus tradit senecttiti. Cyrus quidem 
apud Xenophontem eo sermone^ quern moriens habuit, cum 
admodum senex esset^ negat se umquam sensisse senectti- 
tem suam imbecilliorem factam, quam adulescentia fuisset. 
Ego L. Metellum memini puer, qui cum quadriennio post lo 



years in Spain, but were ultimately 
defeated and slain by Hasdrubal, 212 

B.C. 

avi tui duo. L. Aemilius was his 
real grandfather, and P. Africanus his 
grandfather by adoption. 

L. Aemilius. Consul 219 and 216 
B.C.; fell in the battle of Cannae. 

P. Africanus. P. Cornelius Scipio 
Africanus Maior, the conqueror of 
Hannibal at Zama, 202 b.c. 

Etsi . . . senectutis. With the 
sentiment of this and the following 
sentence compare Shakespeare, As 
You Like It^ Act II. sc. 3 : — 

Though I look old, yet am I 
strong and lusty ; 

For in my youth I never did 
apply 

Hot and rebellious liquors in my 
blood ; 

Nor did not with unbashful fore- 
head woo 

The means of weakness and de- 
bility ; 

Therefore my age is as a lusty 
winter, 

Frosty, but kindly. 



Also cf. Taylor's Holy Living , II. sec. 
2 : ** And Antipater, by his reproach of 
the old glutton Demades, well ex- 
pressed the baseness of his sin, saying 
that Demades, now old, and always 
a glutton, was like a spent sacrifice, 
nothing left of him but his belly and 
his tongue ; all the man besides is 
gone." 

Cyrus : Cyrus the Elder, founder 
of the Persian Empire, captured Bab- 
ylon 538 B.C. and released the Jews 
from captivity. 

apud Xenophontem. In the Cy- 
ropaedia, VIII. 7, 6, a philosophical 
romance on the education of Cyrus. 
Xenophon, pupil of Socrates, and 
historical writer, is best known as 
the leader of the Greeks in the 
famous retreat of the Ten Thousand. 

L. Metellum. L. Caecilius Metel- 
lus, consul 251 and 247 b.c. In his 
first consulship he defeated the Car- 
thaginians at Panormus. He was 
made Pontifex Maximus 243 b.c, and 
two years later rescued the Palladium 
from the burning temple of Vesta, in 
honor of which service his statue was 
placed on the Capitol, 



72 



CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE. 



alterum consulatum pontifex maximus factus esset, vTginti 
et duos annos el sacerdotio praefuit, ita bonis esse viribus 
extremo tempore aetatis, ut adiilescentiam non requireret. 
Nihil necesse est mihi de me ipso dicere, quamquam est 
id quidem senile aetatique nostrae conceditur. 5 

X. 

31 Videtisne, ut apud Homerum saepissime Nestor de virtu- 
tibus suis praedicet ? Tertiam iam enim aetatem liominum 
videbat, nee erat ei verendum, ne vera praedicans de se 
nimis videretur aut insolens aut loquax. Etenim, ut ait 
Homerus^ ' ex eius lingua melle dulcior fluebat oratio/ quam 10 
ad suavitatem ntillis egebat corporis viribus. Et tamen 
dux ille Graeciae nusquam optat, ut Aiacis simills habeat 
decem, sed ut Nestoris ; quod si sibi acciderit, non dubitat, 

32 quin brevi sit Troia perittira. Sed redeo ad me. Quartum 
ago annum et octogesimum ; vellem equidem idem possem is 



apud Homerum. II. I. 260 ; YII. 

124 ff. ; XL 668 ff. 

Nestor. Son of Neleus and king 
of Pylos, famous among the Grecian 
heroes at Troy for his wisdom and 
eloquence. 

ut ait Homerus. Cf. II. I. 316- 
322, Bryant's translation : — 

But now uprose 
Nestor, the master of persuasive 

speech. 
The clear- toned Pylian orator, whose 

tongue 
Dropped words more sweet than 

honey. He had seen 
Two generations that grew up and 

lived 
With him on sacred Pylos pass 

away, 



And now he ruled the third. With 

prudent words 
He thus addressed the assembly of 

the chiefs. 

Aiacis . . . deoem. Cf. II. II. 

371-4, Pope's translation : — 

Oh ! would the gods, in love to 

Greece, decree 
But ten such sages as they grant in 

thee! 
Such wisdom soon should Priam's 

force destroy ; 
And soon should fall the haughty 

towers of Troy. 

Ajax, son of Telamon, king of Sala- 
mis, was second only to Achilles 
among the Greeks in strength and 
valor. 



CHAPTER X. 



73 



gloriari, quod Cyras, sed tamen hoc queo dicere, non me 
quidem els esse viribus, quibus aut miles bello Punico aut 
quaestor eodem bello aut consul in Hispania fuerim aut 
quadriennio post, cum tribtinus mllitaris depugnavi apud 
Thermopylas M'. Grlabrione consule; sed tamen, ut vos 5 
videtis, non plane me enervavit, non adflixit senecttis, non 
curia vires meas desiderat, non rostra, non amici, non clien- 
tes, non hospites. Nee enim umquam sum adsensus veteri 
ill! laudatoque proverbio, quod monet ' mature fieri senem, 
si diu veils senex esse.' Ego vero me minus diu senem esse lo 
mallem quam esse senem, ante quam essem. Itaque nemo 
adhuc convenire me voluit, cui fuerim occupatus. At 
33 minus habeo vTrium quam vestrum utervis. Ne vos quidem 
T. Ponti centurionis vires habetis ; num idcirco est ille 



consul in Hispania. In 195 b.c. 
Thermopylas . . . consule. M'. 

Acilius Glabrio, consul 191 b.c, gained 
a signal victory over Antiochus, king 
of Syria, on the famous battle ground 
of Thermopylae in Greece. Cato 
contributed very largely to the suc- 
cess of the Romans by forcing his 
way over the mountains and attack- 
ing the enemy in the rear. He V7as 
publicly thanked by the consul, and 
sent to Rome with news of the vic- 
tory. See LiddelPs Hist, of Bome, 
pp. 435, 436. 

curia . . . rostra. Put by me- 
tonymy for the senate and people. 
rostra (plural of rostrum) was the 
name given to the platform in the 
Forum from which speakers addressed 
the people. It was so called from 
the ships' beaks, taken from the An- 
tiates in the Latin War, 338 e.g., with 
which it was adorned. Cicero, Bimt. 



20, 80, says that Cato addressed the 
people the last year of his life, qui 
(Cato) annos quinque et octoginta 
natus excessit e vita^ cum quidem eo 
ipso anno contra Ser, Galham ad 
populum summa contentione dixisset^ 
quam etiam orationem scriptam reli- 
quit. 

clientes. It was the custom for 
plebeians to ally themselves to power- 
ful patricians. The client remained 
free, but received protection and as- 
sistance from his patronus, and in 
return followed and defended him in 
war. The Lusitanians chose Cato as 
their patron, and it was in their be- 
half that he delivered the oration 
against the pro-praetor Ser. Galba. 

T. Ponti centurionis. Probably 
some centurion famous for his 
strength. The men who held this 
office were usually chosen on account 
of their size and strength. 



74 



CATO MAIOR DE SEXECTUTE. 



praestantior ? Moderatio modo virium adsit^ et tantum, 
quantum potest quisque nitatur, ne ille non magno desiderio 
tenebitur virium. Olympiae per stadium ingressus esse 
Milo dicitur, cum umerls sustineret bovem. Utrum igitur 
has corporis an Pythagorae tibi malls vires ingeni dari ? 5 
Denique isto bono titare, dum adsit^ cum absit, ne requiras, 
nisi forte adulescentes pueritiam, paululum aetate pro- 
gress! adulescentiam debent requirere. Cursus est certus 
aetatis et una via naturae, eaque simplex, suaque cuique 
parti aetatis tempestivitas est data, ut et mfirmitas puero- lo 
rum et ferocitas iuvenum et gravitas iam constantis aetatis 
et senectutis maturitas nattirale quiddam habeat, quod suo 
34 tempore percipi debeat. Audire te arbitror, Sclpio, hospes 
tuus avitus Masinissa quae faciat hodie nonaginta natus 
annos ; cum ingressus iter pedibus sit, in equum omnino is 
non ascendere ; cum autem equo, ex equo non descendere ; 
ntillo imbri, ntillo frigore addtici, ut capite operto sit, sum- 
mam esse in eo siccitatem corporis, itaque omnia exsequi 
regis officia et munera. Potest igitur exercitatio et tempe- 
rantia etiam in senectute conservare aliquid pristini roboris. 20 



Olympiae. Olympia was a dis- 
trict in Ells in Peloponnesus, where 
the Olympian games were held. 

Masinissa. Masinissa, kuig of 
Numidia, was the guest-friend of 
Scipio's adoptive grandfather, Sclpio 
Africanus Maior. At the outbreak of 
the Second Punic War, the Numidian 
prince, who was then quite young, 
prevailed upon his father. Gala, to 
take up arms against the Romans. 
He fought with success in Spain, and 
aided in the overthrow of Gnaeus 
and Publius Sclpio, 212 b.c. But a 
few years later, he deserted the Car- 



thaginians, formed an alliance with 
Scipio, and urged him to invade 
Africa. The victory of the Romans 
at Zama was made more certain 
by the valor of Masinissa and his 
wild cavalry, and in return for the 
valuable services which he rendered, 
he was securely established upon 
the throne of Numidia, reigning 
over the entire country from Mauri- 
tania to Gyrene. From that time 
Masinissa remained the foe of Car- 
thage, but he did not live to see its 
downfall, as he died 148 b.c, at the 
age of 90. 



CHAPTER XL 



75 



XI. 

Non sunt in senecttite vires. Ne postulantur quidem 
vires a senectute. Ergo et legibus et Instittitis vacat aetas 
nostra intineribus eis^ quae non possunt sine viribus susti- 
nerl. Itaque non modo, quod non possumus, sed ne quan- 

35 turn possumus quidem cogimur. At multl ita sunt inbe- 5 
cilli senes, ut nullum offici aut omnlno vitae mtinus exsequi 
possint. At id quidem non proprium senecttitis vitium est, 
sed commune valetudinis. Quam fuit inbecillus P. African! 
fllius, is qui te adoptavit, quam tenui aut nulla potius 
valettidine ! Quod ni ita fuisset, alterum illud exstitisset lo 
lumen civitatis ; ad paternam enim magnitudinem animi 
doctrina tiberior accesserat. Quid mirum igitur in senibus, 

SI Tnfirmi sint aliquando, cum id ne adulescentes quidem 
effugere possint ? Eesistendum, Laeli et Scipio, senecttiti 
est, eiusque vitia diligentia compensanda sunt ; pugnandum is 

36 tamquam contra morbum sic contra senectutem, habenda 
ratio valetudinis, utendum exercitationibus modicis, tantum 
cibi et potionis adbibendum, ut reficiantur vires, non oppri- 
mantur. Nee vero corpori solum subveniendum est, sed 
menti atque animo multo magis; nam haec quoque, nisi 20 
tamquam Itimini oleum instilles, exstinguuntur senectute. 
Et corpora quidem exercitationum defatigatione ingrave- 



muneribus eis. Under the Re- 
public, the legal period during which 
Roman citizens were under obliga- 
tion to serve in the army was between 
the ages of 17 and 46. In cases of 
great emergency, however, they might 
be called out for military service when 
still older. See Smith's Dictionary of 
Antiquities^ s.v. Exercitus. 



filius. He bore his father's name, 
Publius Cornelius Scipio. Cf. Cic. De 
Off, I. 33 ; also Brut. 19, 77, filius 
quidem eius, is qui hunc minorem 
Scipionem a Paulo adoptavit^ si cor- 
pore valuisset^ in primis habitus esset 
disertus ; indicant cum oratiunculae 
tum historia quaedam Graeca scripta 
dulcissime. 



76 



CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE. 



scunt, animi autem exercendo levantur. Nam quos ait 
Caecilius ^comicos stultos senes/ hos slgnificat credulos, 
obllviosos, dissoltitos, quae vitia sunt non senectutis, sed 
inertis, ignavae, somnlculosae senectutis. Ut petulantia, 
ut libido magis est adulescentium quam senum, nee tamen 5 
omnium adulescentium, sed non proborum, sic ista senilis 
stultitia, quae deliratio appellari solet, senum levium est, 

37 non omnium. Quattuor robustos filios, quinque filias, 
tantam domum, tantas clientelas Appius regebat et caecus 

et senex ; intentum enim animum tamquam arcum habebat lo 
nee languescens succumbebat senectuti. Tenebat non modo 
auctoritatem, sed etiam imperium in suos : metuebant servi, 
verebantur liberl, carum omnes habebant; vigebat in ilia 

38 domo mos patrius et disciplina, Ita enim senecttis honesta 
est, SI se ipsa defendit, si ius suum retinet, si nemini i5 
emancipata est, si usque ad tiltimum spiritum dominatur 
in suos. Ut enim adulescentem in quo est senile aliquid, 
sic senem in quo est aliquid adulescentis probo ; quod qui 
sequitur, corpore senex esse poterit, animo numquam erit. 
Septimus mihi liber Orlginum est in manibus ; omnia 20 



regebat. The power of the house- 
hold father was largely due to his 
priestly character. He inherited from 
his predecessor the supervision of the 
ancestral worship, and was amenable 
only to the gods for the character 
of his domestic government. The 
father's power extended over all the 
persons and property of the patri- 
archal family. — Morey's Boman 
Law, p. 5. But the authority of the 
father, though at first unlimited, was 
afterwards restricted, from time to 
time, both by law and custom, until, 
under the Empire, it finally lost 



most of its harsh and arbitrary feat- 
ures. 

Originum. The first book covered 
the period of the kings ; the second 
and third gave the origin and early his- 
tory of the Italian states ; the fourth 
and fifth contained the history of the 
First and Second Punic Wars; the 
sixth and seventh books brought the 
history down to the last year of Cato's 
life. The name of the entire work, 
Origines, is probably due to the 
character of the second and third 
books. For its historical value, see 
Introduction, p. 35. 



CHAPTER XL 



7T 



antiquitatis monumenta colligo ; caiisarum inlustrium, 
quascumque defend!, nunc cum maxime conficio orationes ; 
itis augurium, pontificium, civile tracto; multum etiam 
Graecis litterTs titor Pythagoreorumque more exercendae 
memoriae gratia, quid quoque die dixerim, audierim, ege- 5 
rim, commemoro vesperl. Hae sunt exercitationes ingeni, 
haec curricula mentis, in his desudans atque elaborans 
corporis vires non magno opere desidero. Adsum amicis, 
venio in senatum frequens ultroque adfero res multum 
et diu cogitatas casque tueor animi, non corporis viribus. lo 
Quas si exsequi nequirem, tamen me lectulus mens oblec- 
taret ea ipsa cogitantem, quae iam agere non possem ; sed 
ut possim, facit acta vita. Semper enim in his studiis 
laboribusque vlventi non intellegitur quando obrepat se- 
nectus. Ita sensim sine sensu aetas senescit nee subito is 
frangitur, sed diuturnitate exstinguitur. 



orationes. For Cicero's opmion 
of Cato as an orator, see Brut. 17, 
65, Quis illo gravior in laudandof 
acerhiorin vituperandof in sententiis 
argutiorf in docendo edisserendoque 
suhtiliorf Befertae sunt orationes 
amplius centum quinquaginta^ quas 
quidem adhuc invenerim, et legerim, 
et verbis et rebus inlustribus. Omnes 
oratoriae virtutes in eis reperientur. 
For Cato's famous definition of an 
orator, see Quint. XII. I. 1, Sit ergo 
nobis orator, quern constituimus, is, 
qui a M. Catone finitur, ' vir bonus 
dicendi peritus ' ; verum, id quod 
et ille posuit prius, et ipsa natura 
potius ac maius est, utique ^vir 
bonus.'' 

Graecis litteris. See note on , 
p. 48. 



acta vita. '* Past life." Cf. Bry- 
ant's beautiful poem The Old 3fan^s 
Counsel : — 

Wisely, my son, while yet thy days 

are long. 
And this fair change of seasons 

passes slow, 
Gather and treasure up the good 

they yield — 
All that they teach of virtue, of 

pure thoughts 
And kind affections, reverence for 

thy God 
And for thy brethren ; so when 

thou shalt come 
Into these barren years, thou may'st 

not bring 
A mind unfurnished and a withered 

heart. 



78 



CATO MAJOR DE SENECTUTE. 



XII. 

39 Sequitar tertia vituperatio senecttitis, quod earn carere 
dicunt voluptatibus. praeclarum munus aetatis, siqni- 
dem id aufert a nobis, quod est in adulescentia vitio- 
sissimuni ! Accipite enim, optimi adulescentes, veterem 
orationein Archytae Tarentini, magni in primis et praeclari 5 
viri, quae mihi tradita est, cum essem adulescens TarentI 
cum Q. Maximo. XuUam capitaliorem pest em quam volup- 
tatem corporis hominibus dicebat a natura datam, cuius 
voluptatis avidae libidines temere et ecfrenate ad potien- 

40 dum incitarentur. Hinc patriae proditiones, hinc rerum lo 
publicarum eversiones, hinc cum bostibus clandestina coUo- 
quia nasci; nullum denique scelus, nullum malum f acinus 
esse, ad quod suscipiendum non libido voluptatis impelle- 
ret ; stupra vero et adulteria et omne tale flagitium nuUis 
excitari aliis inlecebris nisi voluptatis ; cumque homini 15 
sive natura sive quis deus nihil mente praestabilius dedis- 
set, huic divino mtineri ac dono nihil tam esse inimicum 

41 quam voluptatem; nee enim libldine dominante temperan- 
tiae locum esse, neque omnino in voluptatis regno virtutem 
posse consistere. Quod quo magis intellegi posset, fingere 20 
animo iubebat tanta incitatum aliquem voluptate corpo- 
ris, quanta percipi posset maxima; nemini censebat fore 
dubium, quin tam diti, dum ita gauderet, nihil agitare 



Archytae Tarentinl. Archytas, a 
distinguished soldier and statesman 
of Tarentum, flourished about 400 
B.C. He was a follower of Pythago- 
ras, a friend of Plato, and eminent 
for his attainments in mathematics, 
astronomy, and philosophy. Horace 
refers to him. Odes, I. 28. 



libldine . . . temperantiae . . . 
esse. Cf. Taylor's Holy Living, II. 2 ; 
' ' Sobriety is the bridle of the passions 
of desire, and Temperance is the bit 
and curb of that bridle, a restraint 
put into a man's mouth"; also De 
Off,, I. 39, praestantissirmim est appe- 
titum ohtemperare rationi. 



CHAPTER XII. 



79 



mente, nihil rati one, nihil cogitatione consequi posset. 
Quocirca nihil esse tarn detestabile tamque pestifenim 
quam volnptatem, siquidem ea, cum maior esset atque 
longinquior, omne animi lumen exstingueret. Haec cum 
C. Pontio Samnlte, patre eius, a quo Caudino proelio 5 
Sp. Postumius, T. Veturius consules superati sunt, locutum 
Archytam IN'earchus Tarentinus, hospes noster, qui in ami- 
citia populi Roman! permanserat, se a maioribus natu 
accepisse dicebat, cum quidem ei sermon! interfuisset Plato 
Atheniensis, quem Tarentum venisse L. Camillo, Ap. lo 
42 Claudio consulibus reperio. Quorsus hoc ? Ut intellege- 
retis, si voluptatem aspernar! ratione et sapientia non pos- 
semus, magnam habendam esse senecttit! gratiam, quae 
efficeret, ut id non liberet, quod non oporteret. Impedit 
enim consilium voluptas, ration! inim!ca est, mentis, ut ita is 
d!cam, praestringit oculos nee habet tillum cum virttite 



C. Pontio Samnite. C. Pontius 
Herennius was the father of C. 
Pontius Telesinus, who defeated the 
Romans in the Second Samnite War, 
321 B.C., at Caudium in Samnium, 
and sent them under the yoke. For 
an account of this famous battle, and 
for the defeat and death of Pontius 
at the close of the war, see Liddell, 
pp. 214, 215. 

Sp. Postumius. Sp. Postumius 
Albinus was consul 334 and 321 b.c. 

T. Veturius. T. Yeturius Cal- 
vinus was twice the colleague of 
Postumius in the consulship. After 
their disgrace at Caudium, a dictator 
was appointed. 

Nearchus. A Pythagorean phil- 
osopher, in whose home Cato was en- 
tertained at Tarentum, after the re- 



capture of the city in 209 b.c. From 
him Cato learned the principles of 
Pythagoras' philosophy. 

in amioitia . . . permanserat. 
The city was betrayed and delivered to 
Hannibal by those who were hostile 
to the Romans, 212 b.c. See on IV. 
10 and 11. 

cum quidem . . . Atheniensis. 
This clause is to be taken with 
locutum. Plato visited Italy 361 
B.C., but it is hardly probable that 
he went again at the time here indi- 
cated, 349 B.C., for he was then about 
eighty years old. 

L. Camillo . . . consulibus. L. 
Furius Camillus, a descendant of the 
great Camillus, and Appius Claudius 
Crassinus were consuls in the year 
349 B.C. 



80 



CATO MAIOR DE SEXECTUTE. 



commercium. Invitns feci, ut fortissimi viri T. Flaminini 
fratrem, L. Flamininum, e senatii eicerem septem annls 
post, quain consul fuisset, seel notandam putavi libidinem. 
Ille enim, cum esset consul in Gallia, exoratus in convivio 
a scorto est, ut securi ferlret aliquem eorum, qui in vin- 
culis essent, damnati rei capitalis. Hic Tito fratre suo 
censore, qui proximus ante me fuerat^ elapsus est; mihi 
vero et Flacco neutiquam probari potuit tam flagitiosa et 
tam perdita libido, quae cum probro privato coniungeret 
imperi dedecus. 

XIII. 

43 Saepe audivi ex maioribus natti, qui se porro pueros a 
senibus audisse dicebant, mirari solitum C. Fabricium, quod, 
cum apud regem Pyrrhum legatus esset, audisset a Thessalo 



10 



T. Flaminini. See p. 46. 

L. Flamininum. L. Quinctius 
Flamininus served as a naval com- 
mander under his brother in the war 
against Philip of Macedon, and was 
consul 192 B.C. He had Cisalpine 
Gaul as his province, and carried on 
war against the Boii. 

septem annis. Cato was censor 
184 B.C., so that septem annis must 
be understood as seven full years. 

Tito . . . fuerat. 189 b.c. The 
censors were chosen every five years. 

Flacco. L. Valerius Flaccus, col- 
league of Cato in his consulship 195 
B.C., and in the censorship 184. 

apud . . . Pyrrhum. "At the 
court of King Pyrrhus." Pyrrhus, 
claiming descent from the warlike 
Achilles, was born 318 b.c, and be- 
came the king of Epirus in the year 
296 B.C. He was a brave soldier, a 



generous foe, and one of the most 
skillful generals that the Romans 
ever met. His invasion of Italy was 
due to a request from the people of 
Tarentum to aid them in their strug- 
gle against Rome. In 280 b.c he 
gained a victory at Heraclea, but he 
could do nothing more than tempo- 
rarily check the progress of the in- 
domitable Romans. In 278 he went 
to Sicily, and aided the people 
against Carthage. Returning to Italy 
two years later, he was beaten in 
the decisive battle of Beneventum, 
and soon afterward he withdrew 
from Italian soil. While engaged 
in war with Argos, 272 b.c, he 
was killed by a tile thrown from a 
house-top by the hand of a woman, 
— a most inglorious death for so 
brave a soldier and so brilliant a 
commander. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



81 



Cinea esse quendam Athems^ qui se sapientem profiteretur, 
eumque dicere omnia, quae faceremus, ad voluptatem esse 
referenda. Quod ex eo audientis M'. Curium et Ti. Corun- 
canium optare solitos, ut id Samnitibus ipslque Pyrrho 
persuaderetur, quo facilius vinci possent, cum se voluptati- 
bus dedissent. Vixerat W. Curius cum P. Decio, qui quln- 



Cinea. Cineas the Thessalian 
was the chief adviser of King Pyrrhus. 
He had been a pupil of Demosthenes, 
and was himself an orator of marked 
ability. Pyrrhus was very materially 
aided in his plans for conquest by 
the wise counsels and skillful diplo- 
macy of Cineas. For his embassy to 
Rome, see on Appi Claudi, p. 61. 
He probably died while Pyrrhus was 
in Sicily, as we hear no more of him 
after that time. 

quendam Athenis. Epicurus 
(341-270 B.C.) began his teaching 
about 306 b.c, in Athens, and be- 
came the founder of the philosophical 
school called from his name. In 
physics, he adopted, for the most 
part, the atomic theory of Democri- 
tus, which is set forth at considerable 
length in the De Natura Beriim of 
Lucretius. In ethics he taught that 
pleasure is the highest good, but he 
places permanent tranquillity above 
momentary gratification, and prefers 
mental pleasures to bodily, as better 
in themselves and more enduring. 
"The wise man, i.e. the virtuous 
man, is happy because he is free 
from the fears of the gods and of 
death, because he has learned to mod- 
erate his passions and desires, be- 
cause he knows how to estimate and 
compare pleasures and pains, so as 

DE SENEC. — 6 



to secure the largest amount of the 
former with the least of the latter." 
— Mayor. In criticising Epicurus, 
Cicero followed the popular interpre- 
tation of his philosophy, understand- 
ing "pleasure" in a bodily sense, 
while, as a matter of fact, Epicurus' 
doctrine and life were based upon a 
higher and purer conception of the 
term. 

P. Decio. P. Decius Mus, consul 
312, 308, 297, 295 b.c, sacrificed his 
life in the battle of Sentinum, in the 
Third Samnite War, in order to bring 
victory to the Roman arms. By his 
bold act the soldiers were inspired 
with new courage, the day was won, 
and the power of Samnium broken 
forever. See Liddell, p. 213. Cf. 
Liv. X. 28, 13, datum hoc nostro 
generi est ut luendis pericuUs pu- 
blicis piacula simiis ; iam ego mecum 
hostium legiones mactandas Telluri 
et dels manibus dabo. The father of 
this Decius, also named P. Decius 
Mus, sacrificed his life in like manner 
in the Latin War at the battle near 
Mt. Vesuvius, 340 b.c. Cicero, in 
the Tusculan Disputations, mentions 
a third Decius, who followed the ex- 
ample of his father and grandfather, 
and devoted his life, in the battle of 
Asculum, in the war with Pyrrhus, 
279 B.C., Tusc. I. 37, 89, quae quidem 



82 



CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE. 



quennio ante eum consulem se pro re publica quarto 
consulatu devoverat; norat eundem Fabricius, norat Corun- 
canius ; qui cum ex sua vita, turn ex eius, quern dico, Decl, 
facto iudicabant esse profecto aliquid nattira piilchrum 
atque praeclarum, quod sua sponte peteretur, quodque 5 
spreta et contempta voluptate optimus quisque sequeretur. 
44 Quorsus igitur tarn multa de voluptate ? Quia non niodo 
vituperatio nulla, sed etiam summa laus senecttitis est, 
quod ea voluptates nullas magnopere desiderat. Caret 
epulis exstructisque mensis et frequentibus poculTs; caret lo 
ergo etiam vinulentia et cruditate et InsomniTs. Sed si 
aliquid dandum est voluptatT, quoniam eius blanditiis non 
facile obsistimus (divTne enim Plato ' escam malorum ' 
appellat voluptatem, quod ea videlicet homines capiuntur 
ut pisces), quamquam immoderatls epulis caret senectus, is 
modicTs tamen conviviis delectari potest. C. Duellium M. 
fllium, qui Poenos classe primus devlcerat, redeuntem a 
cena senem saepe videbam puer ; delectabatur cereo ftinall 
et tlbicine, quae sibi nullo exemplo privatus sumpserat; 



si timeretur . . . non aim Latinis 
decertans x>(iter Decius, cum Etruscis 
fiUns, cum Pyrrlio nepos^ se hostium 
telis obiecissent. The story of the 
grandson, however, is not very well 
authenticated ; see Smith's Diet, 
of Biog. 

vinulentia. Cf. Juvenal, Sat. I. 
142-144, in regard to over-indulgence 
at banquets. Poena tamen praesens^ 
. . . Hinc suhitae mortes atque in- 
testata senectus. 

escam malorum. Cf. Plato's 
TimaeuSf69, "pleasure, the greatest 
incitement to evil." 

C. Duellium. Duellius gained a 



signal victory over the Carthaginian 
fleet near Mylae, on the coast of 
Sicily, 260 b.c. The famous corvi^ 
grappling bridges, were used in this 
fight. The columna rostrata was 
erected in the Forum to commemo- 
rate the victory. A later version of 
the inscription upon the column is 
still extant. For the battle, see Lid- 
dell, pp. 269, 270. 

sumpserat. Cf. Florus, I. 18, 10, 
Cum Duellius imperatory non con- 
tentus unius diei triumpho, per vitam 
omnem, uhi a cena rediret, praehi- 
cere funalia et praecinere sibi tibias 
iussitt quasi cotidie triumpharet. 



CHAPTER XIY. 



83 



45 tantum licentiae dabat gloria. Sed quid ego alios ? Ad 
me ipsum iam revertar. Primum habui semper sodalTs. 
Sodalitates antem me quaestore constitutae sunt sacrTs 
Idaeis Magnae Matris acceptis. Epulabar igitur cum soda- 
libus omnino modice, sed erat quidam fervor aetatis ; qua 5 
progrediente omnia fiunt in dies mitiora. E"eque enim 
ipsorum conviviorum delectationem voluptatibus corporis 
magis quam coetti amicorum et sermonibus metiebar. Bene 
enim maiores accubitionem epularem amicorum, quia vltae 
conitinctionem haberet, convlvium nominaverunt, melius lo 
quam GraecT, qui hoc idem tum compotationem^ tum con- 
cenationem vocant, ut^ quod in eo genere minimum est, id 
maxime probare videantur. 

XIV. 

46 Ego vero propter sermonis delectationem tempestivis 
quoque conviviis d elector, nee cum aequalibus solum, qui i5 
pauci admodum restant, sed cum vestra etiam aetate atque 
vobiscum, habeoque senecttiti magnam gratiam, quae mihi 



Reid suggests that this honor was 
probably conferred upon him by the 
comitia tributa^ and not assumed on 
his own authority. 

Sodalitates. ''Clubs, societies." 
These brotherhoods, sometimes for 
religious purposes, sometimes for po- 
litical, combined banquets and social 
features with their other duties. 
Their origin belongs to the earliest 
years of Rome, and was probably 
based upon kinship, union through 
the same clan or gens. The text 
means that new societies were 
founded at this time, not that the 
institution itself first became known. 

quaestore. In the year 204 b.c. 



sacrTs Idaeis . . . acceptis. The 

worship of Cybele, magna mater 
deorum, was introduced into Rome, 
204 B.C., when the image of the 
goddess was brought from Pessinus 
in Phrygia, and placed in the temple 
of Victory, on the Palatine hill. 
The sacred statue was received by 
P. Cornelius Scipio Nasica, chosen 
for the service because of his purity 
of character. The Megalesian festival 
and games were established in honor 
of Cybele, and observed in April. 
Cf. Ov. Fast. IV. 249 ff. 

qua . . . fiunt. Cf. Hor. Up. II. 
2, 211. 
Lenior et melior fis, accedente senecta? 



84 CATO MAIOR DE SEXECTUTE. 

sermonis aviditatem auxit^ potionis et cibi sustulit. Quod 
SI quern etiam ista delectant (ne omnino bellum indlxisse 
videar voluptatl, cuius est fortasse quidam naturalis modus), 
non intellego ne in istis quidem ipsis voluptatibus carere 
sensti senectutem. Me vero et magisteria delectant a maio- 5 
ribus instittita et is sermo, qui more maiorum a summo 
adhibetur in poculo, et pocula, sicut in Symposio Xeno- 
phontis est, mintita atque rorantia et refrlgeratio aestate 
et vicissim aut sol aut Ignis liibernus ; quae quidem etiam 
in Sabinis persequi soleo conviviumque vicinorum cotldie lo 
compleo, quod ad multam noctem, quam maxime possumus, 

47 vario sermone prodticimus. At non est voluptatum tanta 
quasi titillatio in senibus. Credo, sed ne desideratio qui- 
dem ; nihil autem est molestum, quod non desideres. Bene 
Sophocles, cum ex eo quidam iam adfecto aetate quaereret, i5 
utereturne rebus veneriis : ' Di meliora ! ' inquit ; ' libenter 
vero istinc sicut ab domino agresti ac furioso profugL' 
Cupidls enim rerum talium odiosum fortasse et molestum 
est carere, satiatis vero et expletis iilcundius est carere 
quam frui. Quamquam non caret is, qui non desiderat; 20 

48 ergo hoc non deslderare dico esse iucundius. Quod si istis 
ipsis voluptatibus bona aetas fraitur libentius, primum par- 
vulls fruitur rebus, ut diximus, deinde els, quibus senecttis 
etiamsl non abunde potitur, non omnino caret. Ut Tur- 

magisteria. "Presidencies," re- da /zcm to attend to the club-dinners, 

ferring to the office of master of the \ and having more important duties 

feast, magister^ rex, or arbiter bibendi, ' than those of the arbiter bibendi. 

corresponding to the Greek av/jLiroo-l- Symposio. The Banquet of the 

apxos. A member of the company Philosophers, an imaginary dialogue 

was chosen by lot to preside at the | between Socrates and his friends at a 

banquet and lead in the merry- dinner given by the Athenian Callias. 

making. Reid refers magisteria to Turpione. Lucius Ambivius Tur- 

officers elected annually by the so- pio was the most noted actor and 



CHAPTER XIV. 



85 



pione Ambivio magis delectatur, qui in prima cavea spectat, 
delectatur tamen etiam^ qui in ultima, sic adulescentia 
voluptates propter intuens magis fortasse laetatur, sed 
delectatur etiam senectus procul eas spectans tantum, 

49 quantum sat est. At ilia quanti sunt, animum tamquam 5 
emeritis stipendiis libidinis, ambitionis, contentioiiis, inimi- 
citiarum, cupiditatum omnium secum esse seciimque, ut 
dicitur, vivere ! Si vero habet aliquod tamquam pabulum 
studi atque doctrinae, nihil est otiosa senecttite iucundius. 
Videbamus in studio dimetiendi paene caeli atque terrae lo 
C. G-alum, familiarem patris tui, Scipio. Quotiens ilium 
lux noctu aliquid describere ingressum, quotiens nox op- 

60 pressit, cum mane coepisset ! Quam delectabat eum defec- 
tiones solis et lunae multo ante nobis praedlcere ! Quid in 
levioribus studiis, sed tamen acutis ? Quam gaudebat bello i5 
suo Ptinico Kaevius ! quam Truculento Plautus, quam 



theatrical manager of Cato's time. 
He and his company brought out the 
comedies of Terence. 

emeritis stipendiis. A metaphor 
from military Uf e ; an old man is lik- 
ened to a soldier who has completed 
his service. Compare this with the 
following from Emerson's Old Age : — 

' ' We live in youth amid this rabble 
of passions, quite too tender, quite 
too hungry and irritable. Later, the 
interiors of mind and heart open, 
and supply grander motives. We 
learn the fatal compensations that 
wait on every act. Then, — one after 
another, — this riotous, time- destroy- 
ing crew disappear." . . . "When 
life has been well spent, age is a loss 
of what it can well spare, — muscu- 
lar strength, organic instincts, gross 



bulk, and works that belong to these. 
But the central wisdom, which was 
old in infancy, is young in fourscore 
years, and, dropping off obstructions, 
leaves in happy subjects the mind 
purified and wise." 

Galum. C. Sulpicius Galus, con- 
sul, 166 B.C., was noted for bis literary 
culture, and especially for his skill as 
an astronomer. Before the battle of 
Pydna, 168 b.c, he predicted an 
eclipse of the moon, and thus allayed 
the superstitious fears of the soldiers. 

Plautus. T. Maccius Plautus was 
born about 254 b.c, at Sarsina, in 
Umbria, and died 184 b.c. But little 
is known of his life. He began to 
write for the stage when about thirty 
years of age, and produced, if the ac- 
counts be true, a large number of 



86 



CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE. 



Pseudolo ! Vidl etiam senem Livium 5 qui, cum sex aiinis 
ante quam ego natus sum fabulam docuisset Centone Tudi- 
tanoque consulibus, usque ad adulescentiam meam processit 
aetate. Quid de P. Licinl Grass! et pontificii et civilis itiris 
studio loquar aut de huius P. Scipionis qui his paucis die- 
bus pontifex maximus f actus est ? Atque eos omnis, quos 
commemoravl, his studiis flagrantis senes vidimus. M. vero 
Cethegum, quem recte ' Suadae medullam ' dixit Ennius, 
quanto studio exerceri in dicendo videbamus etiam senem ! 
Quae sunt igitur epularum aut ludorum aut scortorum 
voluptates cum his voluptatibus comparandae? Atque 
haec quidem studia doctrinae, quae quidem prudentibus et 
bene instittitis pariter cum aetate crescunt, nt honestum 
illud Solonis sit, quod ait versiculo quodam, nt ante dixi, 



10 



comedies ; but of the 130 plays 
ascribed to him, only twenty-one are 
regarded as certainly genuine. Of 
these, twenty are still extant. They 
are all from Greek sources and be- 
long to the earliest period in Roman 
literature. Truculentus (the Grumb- 
ler), and Pseudolus (the name of a 
slave), are two of his comedies. 

Livium. Livius Andronicus, a 
Greek born in Tarentum, about 285 
B.C., was taken prisoner by the 
Romans and became the slave pos- 
sibly of M. Livius Salinator. Subse- 
quently he was set free and began 
life as a teacher of Greek and Latin. 
He translated the Odyssey into Latin 
verse for the use of his pupils. In 
the year 240 b.c, he brought out on 
the stage a Latin tragedy and comedy, 
borrowed from Greek sources. This 
date marks the beginning of Roman 
literature. Cf. Hor. Ep. 11. 1, 156, ff. 



Centone Tuditanoque. C. Clau- 
dius Cento, son of Appius Claudius 
Caecus, and M. Sempronius Tudi- 
tanus, were consuls 240 b.c. 

huius P. Scipionis. Of the 
present Fuhlius Scipio. Cf. hi con- 
sules, Y. 14. P. Cornelius Scipio 
Nasica was surnamed Corculum, on 
account of his legal attainments and 
eminence as a jurist. 

M. Cethegum. Cicero, Brut, 15, 
57, calls Cethegus the first Roman 
orator, primus est M. Cornelius 
Cethegus^ cuius eloquentiae est auctor 
et idoneus quidem mea sententia Q. 
Ennius^ praesertim cum et ipse eum 
audiverit et scrihat de mortuo. 

Suadae medullam. Cf. Brut. 
15, 59, ' Suadaeque medulla^'' ireLdiv 
quam vacant Graeci, cimis effector est 
orator^ hanc Suadam appellavit 
Ennius. According to Cicero, Ennius 
also called Cethegus suaviloquens. 



CHAPTER XV. 



87 



senescere se multa in dies addiscentem, qua voluptate 
animi nulla certe potest esse maior. 



XV. ^^ 

51 Venio nunc ad voluptates agricolarum, quibus ego incre- 
dibiliter delector ; quae nee uUa impediuntur senectute et 
mihi ad sapientis vitam proxime videntur accede re. Ha- 
bent enim rationem cum terra, quae numquam recusat 
imperium nee umquam sine ustira reddit, quod accepit, 
sed alias minore, plerumque maiore cum faenore. Quam- 
quam me quidem non fructus modo, sed etiam ipslus terrae 
VIS ac nattira delectat. Quae cum gremio mollito ac sub- 
acto sparsum semen excepit, primum id occaecatum cohibet, 



10 



ad voluptates agricolarum. The 

Romans considered farming the 
only honorable employment for men 
of senatorial rank. Cicero himself 
was fond of country life, and- very 
fitly attributes these words to Cato, 
who was thoroughly familiar with 
rural affairs and took great delight in 
his Sabine estate. In his De Be 
Rustica, Cato says : Et virum bonum 
cum (maior es nostri) laudabant, 
ita laudabant, ' bonum agricolam 
bonumque colonum ' ; and ibid. 4, 
At ex agricolis et viri fortissimi, et 
milites strenuissimi gignuntiu\ max- 
imequepiiis quaestus, stabilissimusque 
conseqintu7% minimeque invidiosus : 
minimeque male cogitantes sunt, qui 
in eo studio occupati sunt. Horace 
sings the praises of a farjner's life in 
Epod. 2, — 

Beatus ille, qui procul negotiis, 

Ut prisca gens mortalium, 
Paterna rura bobus exercet suis. 



Cf. also Verg. Geor. II. 513, ff. 
(Dryden's translation) : — 

The peasant, innocent of all these ills, 

With crooked plow the fertile fal- 
lows tills, 

And the round year with daily 
labor fills. 

* ***** 

Such was the life the frugal Sabines 
led: 

So Eemus and his brother god were 
bred, 

From whom th' austere Etrurian 
virtue rose ; 

And this rude life our homely 
fathers chose. 

Old Rome from such a race deriv'd 
her birth 

(The seat of empire, and the con- 
quered earth), 

AVhich now on sev'n high hills tri- 
umphant reigns. 

And in that compass all the world 
contains. 



88 CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE. 

ex quo occatio, quae hoc efficit, nominata est^ deinde tepe- 
factum vapore et compressti suo diffundit et elicit herbe- 
scentem ex eo viriditatem, quae nixa fibris stirpium sensim 
adulescit culmoque erecta geniculato vaginis iam quasi 
ptibescens includitur; ex quibus cum emersit, fundit frti- 5 
gem spici ordine structam et contra avium minorum morsus 

52 mtinitur vallo aristarum. Quid ego vitium orttis, sattis, in- 
crementa commemorem ? Satiari delectatione non possum, 
ut meae senectutis requiem oblectamentumque noscatis. 
Omitto enim vim ipsam omnium, quae generantur e terra; lo 
quae ex fici tantulo grano aut ex acini vinaceo aut ex cete- 
rarum frtigum aut stirpium mintitissimis seminibus tantos 

t run cos ramosque procreet. Malleoli, plantae, sarmenta, 
viviradices, propagines nonne efficiunt, ut quemvTs cum 
admiratione delectent ? Vitis quidem, quae nattira cadtica 15 
est et, nisi fulta est, fertur ad terram, eadem, ut se erigat, 
claviculis suis quasi manibus, quicquid est nacta, complec- 
titur ; quam serpentem multiplicl lapsu et erratico f erro 
amputans coercet ars agricolarum, ne silvescat sarmentis 

53 et in omnis partis nimia fundatur. Itaque ineunte vere 20 
in els, quae relicta sunt, exsistit tamquam ad articulos 
sarmentorum ea, quae gemma dicitur, a qua oriens uva se 
ostendit, quae et stico terrae et calore solis augescens primo 
est peracerba gustatu, deinde maturata dulcescit vestitaque 
pampinTs nee modico tepore caret et nimios solis defendit 25 
ardores. Qua quid potest esse cum fructti laetius, turn 
aspectu pulchrius ? Cuius quidem non titilitas me solum, 

ut ante dixi, sed etiam culttira et nattira ipsa delectat, 
adminiculorum ordines, capitum iugatio, religatio et propa- 
gatio vitium, sarmentorum ea, quam dixi, aliorum amputa- 30 
tio, aliorum immissio. Quid ego irrigationes, quid fossiones 
agri repastinationesque proferam, quibus fit multo terra 



CHAPTER XVI. 



89 



54 fecundior ? Quid de iitilitate loquar stercorandi ? Dixi 
in eo libro, quern de rebus rtisticis scrips!; de qua doctus 
Hesiodus ne verbum quidem fecit, cum de cultura agri 
scriberet. At Homerus, qui multis, ut mihi videtur, ante 
saeculis fuit, Laertam lenientem desiderium, quod capiebat 5 
e filio, colentem agrum et eum stercorantem facit. Nee 
vero segetibus solum et pratis et vinels et arbustis res riisti- 
cae laetae sunt, sed hortis etiam et pomariis, tum pecudum 
pastti, apium examinibus, florum omnium varietate. Nee 
consitiones modo delectant, sed etiam insitiones, quibus lo 
nihil invenit agri cultura soUertius. 

XVI. 

55 Possum persequi permulta oblectamenta rerum rtisticar 
rum, sed haec ipsa, quae dixT, sentio fuisse longiora. Igno- 
scetis autem; nam et studio rtisticarum rerum provectus 
sum, et senecttis est natura loquacior, ne ab omnibus eam 15 
vitiis videar vindicare. Ergo in hac vita M\ Curius, cum 
de Samnitibus, de Sabinis, de Pyrrho triumphasset, con- 



de . . . agri. Hesiod's poem was 
entitled "EpYa Kal 'H/x^/)at. 

Laertam. Laertes was king of 
Ithaca and father of Odysseus. He 
gave up his kingdom to his son and 
spent his time in the cultivation of 
his farm. 

colentem . . . stercorantem. 
Cato refers to Od. XXIV. 226, in 
which Laertes is represented as 
simply digging in his garden. 

insitiones. Cf. Verg. Geor. II. 
32-34 (Dry den's translation) : — 

'Tis usual now an inmate graff to 
see 



With insolence invade a foreign 

tree: 
Thus pears and quinces from the 

crab tree come : 
And thus the ruddy cornel bears the 

plum ; 

also ibid. 73-82 for the various methods 
of grafting. Read Bacon's essay 
on Gardens, "God Almighty first 
planted a garden ; and indeed it is 
the purest of human pleasures " ; also 
Addison's Spectator, No. 477, " I look 
upon the pleasure which we take in a 
garden, as one of the most innocent 
delights in human life " ; and Emer- 



90 



CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE. 



sumpsit extremum tempus aetatis. Cuius quidem ego vil- 
lain contemplans (abest enim non longe a me) admlrari 
satis non possum vel hominis ipsius continentiam vel tem- 
56 porum discipllnam. Curio ad focum sedenti magnum aurl 
pondus Samnites cum attulissent, repudiati sunt ; non enim 
aurum habere praeclarum sibi videri dixit, sed eis, qui 
haberent aurum, imperare. Poteratne tantus animus effi- 
cere non iticundam senecttitem? Sed venio ad agricolas, 
ne a me ipso recedam. In agrls erant tum senatores, id 
est senes, siquidem aranti L. Quinctio Cincinnato ntintia- 
tum est eum dictatorem esse factum ; cuius dictatoris iussu 



10 



son's essay on Farming, in which he 
says, '* And the profession (of the 
farmer) has in all eyes its ancient 
charm, as standing nearest to God, 
the First Cause." 

Curio. This story is thus related 
by Plutarch, Life of CatOy 2 : — 

" The little country house of Manius 
Curius, who had been thrice carried 
in triumph, happened to be near his 
farm ; so that often going thither, and 
contemplating the small compass of 
the place and plainness of the dwell- 
ing, Cato formed an idea of the mind 
of the person, who being one of the 
greatest of the Romans, and having 
subdued the most warlike nations, 
and driven Pyrrhus out of Italy, 
now, after three triumphs, was con- 
tented to dig in so small a piece of 
ground, and live in such a cottage. 
Here it was that ambassadors of the 
Samnites, finding him boiling turnips 
in the chimney corner, offered him a 
present of gold ; but- he sent them 
away with this saying, that he who 
was content with such a supper, had 



no need of gold ; and that he thought 
it more honorable to conquer those 
who possessed the gold than to pos- 
sess the gold itself. Cato, after re- 
flecting upon these things, used to 
return, and reviewing his own farm, 
his servants, and housekeeping, in- 
crease his labor, and retrench all 
superfluous expenses." 

L. Quinctio Cincinnato. Cincin- 
natus belongs to the legendary period 
of Roman history. In 458 b.c, ac- 
cording to tradition, he was sum- 
moned from the plow to become 
dictator in the war against the 
Aequians. Twenty years later he 
was given similar authority to quell 
a revolt of the people. For the story 
of Cincinnatus, see Livy, III. 26 ; Lid- 
dell, Hist, of Borne, pp. 106-108, 134. 

magister . . . Ahala. The dic- 
tator, having been appointed by the 
consul at the instance of the senate, 
nominated his second in command, 
the master of the horse. Ahala held 
this ofiice in the second dictatorship 
of Cincinnatus. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



91 



magister equitum C. Servilius Ahala Sp. Maelium regnum 
adpetentem occupatum interemit. A villa in senatum 
arcessebatur et Curius et ceteri series, ex quo, qui eos 
arcessebant, viatores nominati sunt. IS'uin igitur horum 
senecttis miserabilis fuit, qui se agri cultione oblectabant ? 5 
Mea quidem sententia baud scio an nulla beatior possit 
esse^ neque solum oflBcio, quod hominum generl universo 
cultura agrorum est saltitaris, sed et delectatione, quam 
dixi, et saturitate copiaque rerum omnium, quae ad victum 
hominum, ad cultum etiam deorum pertinent, ut, quoniam lo 
haec quidam desiderant, in gratiam iam cum voluptate 
redeamus. Semper enim boni assiduique domini referta 
cella vinaria, olearia, etiam penaria est, viUaque tota locu- 
ples est, abundat porco, haedo, agno, gallina, lacte, caseo, 
melle. Iam hortum ipsi agricolae succidiam alteram appel- 15 
lant. Conditiora facit haec superyacaneis etiam operis 

67 aucupium atque venatio. Quid de pratorum viriditate aut 
arborum ordinibus aut vinearum olivetorumve specie pltira 
dicam ? Brevi praecTdam : Agro bene culto nihil potest 
esse nee usu uberius nee specie ornatius; ad quem fruen- 20 
dum non modo non retardat, verum etiam invTtat atque 
adlectat senecttis. Ubi enim potest ilia aetas aut calescere 
vel apricatione melius vel ignl aut vicissim umbris aquisve 

58 refrigerari salubrius ? Sibi habeant igitur arma, sibi equos, 
sibi hastas, sibi clavam et pilam, sibi natationes atque cur- 25 
stis, nobis senibus ex lusionibus multis talos relinquant et 



Sp. Maelium. Sp. Maelius was 
a wealthy plebeian. His offense con- 
sisted in buying up corn in Etruria, in 
a season of great scarcity and drought 
(440 B.C.), and distributing it at a 
small price, or gratuitously, among the 
poor. This action exposed him to the 



hatred of the ruling class. The charge 
of aiming at regal power was simply 
a pretext on the part of the patricians. 
They were angry at the plebeians for 
their aggressive course in wresting 
enlarged political privileges from the 
unwilling hands of the ruling class. 



92 



CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE. 



tesseras, id ipsum ut lubebit, qiioniam sine eis beata esse 
senecttis potest. 

XVII. 

59 Multas ad res pertitiles Xenophontis librl sunt; quos 
legite, quaeso, studiose, ut facitis. Quam copiose ab eo 
agri culttira laudatur in eo libro, qui est de tuenda re fami- 5 
liarl, qui Oeconomicus mscribitur! Atque ut intellegatis 
nihil ei tarn regale videri qu^-m studium agrI colendi, Socra- 
tes in eo libro loquitur cum Critobtilo Cyrum minorem, 
Persarum regem, praestantem ingenio atque imperi gloria, 
cum Lysander Lacedaemonius, vir summae virtutis, venis- 10 
set ad eum Sardis eique dona a sociis adtulisset, et ceteris 
in rebus commtinem erga Lysandrum atque humanum 



Xenophontis libri. In addition 
to his historical works, Xenophon 
wrote three small treatises on Hus- 
bandry, 'OiKOPOfjiLKos ; Horses, wepl 'Itt- 
TTLKTjs ; and the Chase, KvprjyeTLKds. 

ut facitis. Cf. Cic. Tusc. II. 26, 
62, Itaqiie semper Africanus Socrati- 
cumXenophontem in manibus habebat. 

Oeconomicus. Written in the 
form of a dialogue with Socrates and 
Critobulus as the speakers. Cicero 
had translated this when a young 
man. The passage following is a free 
rendering of Ch. IV. 20-25. 

Critobulo. Critobulus became the 
pupil of Socrates, at the request of 
his father Crito, who was one of the 
great philosopher's most influential 
friends and devoted followers. 

Cyrum minorem, Persarum re- 
gem. "Cyrus the younger, prince 
of the Persians " (he was not actually 
king). Cyrus, the second son of 



Darius Nothus, is best known for his 
unsuccessful attempt to wrest the 
Persian Empire from his brother 
Artaxerxes. After his defeat and 
death at Cunaxa, 401 e.g., the Greeks, 
who had been the mainstay of his 
army, achieved the masterly retreat 
described by Xenophon in the Anab- 
asis. 

Lysander. Lysander became prom- 
inent in the latter part of the Pelo- 
ponnesian war. While in command 
of Lacedaemonian troops on the coast 
of Asia Minor, in 407 e.g., he made 
the acquaintance of Cyrus, then a 
Persian satrap. In 405 e.g., Lysander 
defeated the Athenians at Aegos- 
potamos, and by this decisive victory 
prepared the way for the final capture 
of Athens. Later he was influential 
in placing the thirty tyrants in power. 
His death occurred in a battle against 
the Thebans, 395 e.g. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



93 



fuisse et el quendam consaeptum agrum diligenter consi- 
tum ostendisse. Cum antein admiraretur Lysander et 
proceritates arborum et derectos in quTncuncem ordines et 
humum subactam atque ptiram et suavitatem odorum, qui 
adflarentur ex floribus, turn eum dixisse mirari se non modo 5 
diligentiam, sed etiam sollertiam eius, a quo essent ilia 
dimeiisa atque discrlpta ; et Cyrum respondisse : ' Atqui 
ego ista sum omnia dimensus ; mei sunt ordines, mea 
discriptio, multae etiam istarum arborum mea manti sunt 
satae.' Tum Lysandrum intuentem purpuram eius et nito- lo 
rem corporis ornatumque Persicum multo auro multisque 
gemmis dixisse : ' Eecte vero te, Gyre, beatum . f erunt, quo- 
60 niam virtuti tuae fortuna coniuncta est.' Hac igitur for- 
tuna frui licet senibus, nee aetas impedit, quo minus et 
ceterarum rerum et in prlmis agri colendi studia teneamus is 
usque ad tiltimum tempus senecttitis. M. quidem Vale- 
rium Corvinum accepimus ad centesimum annum perdu- 
xisse, cum esset acta iam aetate in agris eosque coleret ; 
cuius inter primum et sextum consulatum sex et quadra- 
ginta anni interfuerunt. Ita, quantum spatium aetatis 20 
maiores ad senecttitis initium esse voluerunt, tantus illi 
cursus honorum fuit ; atque huius extrema aetas hoc beatior 
quam media, quod auctoritatis habebat plus, laboris minus ; 



Recte . . . est. Cf. Xen. Dec. 
IV. 25, AiKaidis fioL 8ok€is ^(py], w KOpe, 
€v5aifji.(s)p elvaif ay adds yap wv dvrjp 
evdaL/jLOveis. 

M. . . . Valerium Corvinum. 
M. Valerius Corvinus was consul six 
times, first in 348 e.g., and the last 
time in 299 b.c. Therefore the exact 
period intervening between his first 
and sixth consulship was forty-nine 
years, and not forty -six, as stated in 



the text. Valerius owed his surname, 
Corvinus, to the fact that a raven 
{corvus) lighted upon his helmet 
when, in 349 b.c, he engaged in 
single combat with a huge Gaul. 
See Liddell, Hist, of Bome^ p. 151. 

sex et quadraginta. See above 
on Corvinum. The regular period of 
military service closed with the forty- 
sixth year, and the aetas seniovum 
commenced. 



94 



CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE. 



61 apex est autem senectutis auctoritas. Quanta fuit in L. 
Caecilio Metello, quanta in A. Atllio Calatmo ! in quern 
illud elogium : ^ Hunc unum plurimae consentiunt gentes 
populi prlmarium fuisse virurn.' Notum est carmen incl- 
sum in sepulcro. Itire igitur gravis^ cuius de laudibus 
omnium esset fama consentiens. Quern virum nuper P. 
Crassum, pontificem maximum, quem postea M. Lepidum, 
eodem sacerdotio praeditum, vidimus ! Quid de Paulo aut 
Africano loquar aut, ut iam ante, de Maximo ? quorum non 
in sententia solum, sed etiam in nutti residebat auctoritas. 
Habet senectus honorata praesertim tantam auctoritatem, 
ut ea pluris sit quam omnes adulescentiae voluptates. 



10 



XVIII. 

62 Sed in omni oratione mementote eam me senecttitem 
laudare, quae fundamentis adulescentiae constittita sit. Ex 
quo efficitur id quod ego magno quondam cum assensti is 
omnium dixi, miseram esse senecttitem quae se oratione 
defenderet. Non cam nee rugae repente auctoritatem arri- 



A. Atllio Calatino. Aulus Atil- 
ius Calatinus was a native of Calatia 
in Campania. Elected consul in 258 
and 254 b.c. and appointed dictator 
in 249, he rendered good service in 
the Eirst Punic War. 

in sepulcro. His tomb was near 
that of the Scipios, on the Appian 
Way, outside the Capena gate. Cf. 
Cic. Tiisc. I. 7, 13, an tu egressus porta 
Capena, cum Calatini, Scipiomim, 
Serviliorumy Metellorum sepulcra 
vides, miseros putas illos 9 

M. Lepidum. M. Aemilius Lepi- 
dus was consul 187 b.c. and 175, and 
Pontifex Maximus 180 b.c, and 



princeps senatus six times in succes- 
sion. He constructed the Aemilian 
Way, a continuation of the Flamin- 
ian. His death occurred about 150 b.c. 
cam. Sc. capilli. Cani with its 
noun omitted is poetic. With this 
passage, Non cani . . . possunt, cf. 
Seneca, Tranq. III. 7, Saepe grandis 
natu senex nullum aliud habet argu- 
mentum, quo se probet diu vixisse, 
praeter aetatem; also Sheridan, 
Pizarro^ Act IV. sc. 1 : — 

" A life spent worthily should be 
measured by a nobler line, — by 
deeds, not years." 



CHAPTER XVm. 95 

pere possunt, sed lioneste acta superior aetas friictiis capit 

63 auctoritatis extremos. Haec enim ipsa sunt honorabilia, 
quae videntur levia atque communia, salutari, adpeti. 
decedl, adsurgi, deduci, redtici, consiili; quae et ajjud nos 

et in alils civitatibus, ut quaeque optime morata est, ita 5 
diligentissime observantur. Lysandrum Laeedaemonium. 
cuius modo feci mentionem, dicere aiunt solitum Lacedae- 
monem esse honestissimum domicilium senecttitis : nus- 
quam enim tantum tribuitur aetatl, nusquam est senecttis 
honoratior. Quin etiam memoriae proditum est. cum Athe- i" 
nis ludis quidam in theatrum grandis natu venisset. magno 
consessti locum nusquam ei datum a suis civibus : cum 
autem ad Lacedaemonios accessisset, qui legati cum essent. 
certo in loco consederant, consurrexisse omnes illi dicuntur 

64 et senem sessum recepisse. Quibus cum a ctincto consessu i- 
plausus esset multiplex datus, dixisse ex eis quendam 
Atheniensis scire, quae recta essent, sed facere nolle. 
Multa in nostro collegio praeclara. sed hoc. de quo agi- 
mus, in primis, quod, ut quisque aetate antecedit. ita 
sententiae prmcipatum tenet, neque solum honore antece- 20 
dentibus, sed eis etiam. qui cum imperio sunt, miiiores natu 
augures anteponuntur. Quae sunt igitur voluptates cor- 
poris cum auctoritatis praemils comparandae ? Quibus qui 
splendide tisi sunt, ei mihi videntur fabulam aetatis pere- 
gisse nee tamquam inexercitati histriones in extremo actti 20 
corruisse. 

Lacedaemonem. The city was | cum auctoritatis praemiis. Cf. 
called Sparta or Lacedaemon. Ac- ' Shakespeare, J/ac-^^f/i, Act V. so. 3: — 
cording to fable, LacedaemoD, son of j 

Jupiter, married Sparta, the daughter And that which should accompany 
of Eurotas. The Laconian city in old age. 

which they lived and reigned received | As honor, love, obedience, troops of 
the name of each. t friends. 



96 CATO MAIOR DE SEXECTUTE. 

65 At sunt morosl et anxii et iracuncli et difficiles senes. 
Si quaerimus, etiam avari ; seel haec morum vitia sunt, non 
senectutis. Ac morositas tamen et ea vitia, quae dixi, 
habent aliquicl excusationis non illius quiclem iustae, sed 
quae probarl posse videatur; contemni se putant, despici, 5 
inludi; praeterea in fragili corpore odiosa omnis offensio 
est. Quae tamen omnia dulciora fiunt et moribus bonis 

et artibus, idque cum in vita, tum in scaena intellegl potest 
ex eis fratribus, qui in Adelphis sunt. Quanta in altero 
diritas, in altero comitas ! Sic se res habet : ut enim non lo 
omne vinum, sic non omnis natura vetustate coacescit. 
Severitatem in senectute probo, sed earn, sicut alia, modi- 

66 cam, acerbitatem nullo modo. Avaritia vero senilis quid 
sibi velit, non intellego; potest enim quicquam esse ab- 
surdius quam, quo viae minus restet, eo plus viatici 15 
quaerere ? 

XIX. 

Quarta restat causa, quae maxime angere atque sollicitam 
habere nostram aetatem videtur, adpropinquatio mortis, 
quae certe a senectute non potest esse longe. miserum 
senem, qui mortem contemnendam esse in tam longa aetate 20 
non viderit ! quae aut plane negiegenda est, si omnino 

Adelphis. Adelphi. The Broth- toMicio ; cf. Adelph. 1. 863, Ille suam 
ers, one of the comedies of Terence semper egit vitam in otio. in con- 
(195-159 B.C.), the successor of Plan- viviis : Clemens, placidus. 
tus, and a member of the Scipionic Avaritia, etc. With this passage 
circle. His six comedies are still cf. Ter. Adelph. 11. 831-4 : — 
extant. I noster Demea, 

diritas. '' Harshness " ; referring ' ad omnia alia aetate sapimus rectius ; 
to Demea; cf. Adelph. 1. 866, Ego solum unum hoc vitium adfert senec- 
ille agrestis, saevos, tiistis^ parens, tus hominibus : 
trucidentus, tenax. adtentiores sumus ad rem omnes, 

comitas. " Kindness " j referring quam sat est. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



97 



exstinguit animunij aut etiam optanda, si aliquo eum dedti- 
cit^ ubi sit futtirus aeternns; atqui tertium certe nihil 

67 inveniri potest. Quid igitur timeam, sT aut non miser post 
mortem aut beatus etiam futtirus sum? Quamquam quis 
est tam stultus, quamvis sit adulescens, cui sit exploratum 5 
se ad vesperum esse victurum ? Quin etiam aetas ilia 
multo pltiris quam nostra casus mortis habet; facilius in 
morbos incidunt adulescentes, gravius aegrotant^ tristius 
curantur. Itaque pauci veniunt ad senecttitem; quod ni 
ita accideret, melius et prudentius viveretur. Mens eiiim lo 
et ratio et consilium in senibus est; qui si null! fuissent, 
nullae omnino civitates fuissent. Sed redeo ad mortem 
impendentem. Quod est istud crimen senecttitis, cum id 

68 61 videatis cum adulescentia esse commune ? Sens! ego in 
Optimo filio, tu in exspectatis ad amplissimam dignitatem 15 
fratribus, Scipio, mortem omni aetati esse communem. At 
sperat adnlescens diti se victurum, quod sperare idem senex 
non potest. Insipienter sperat. Quid enim stultius quam 
incerta pro certis habere, falsa pro veris ? At senex ne 
quod speret quidem habet. At est eo meliore condicione 20 
quam adulescens, quoniam id, quod ille sperat, hic conse- 

69 cutus est ; ille vult diti vivere, hic diti vixit. Quamquam, 



SI. . . . exstinguit animum. The 

doctrine of the annihilation of the 
soul. According to Sallust, Cat. 51, 
20, Caesar declared his belief in this 
doctrine : De poena possum eqiddem 
dicere, id quod res habet^ in luctu 
atque miseriis mortem aernmnarum 
reqniem, non cruciatiim esse, eam 
cuncta mortalium mala dissolvere, 
ultra neque curae neque gaudio lo- 
cum esse. Lucretius, who accepted 
the philosophy of Epicurus, set forth 

DE SENEC. — 7 



the same belief in De Katura Berum, 
III. 417, ff. 

fratribus. The two sons of Aemi- 
lius Paulus, aged twelve and fourteen, 
who died, the younger five days be- 
fore and the older three days after 
Paulus' triumph over King Perseus 
of Macedonia. Their death left him 
without heirs, as his older sons had 
been adopted into other families, one 
into the Fabian gens, the other (Sci- 
pio) into the Cornelian. 



98 



CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE. 



di boni! quid est in hominis natura diti ? Da enim 
summum tempus, exspectemus Tartessiorum regis aetatem 
(fuit enim, ut scriptum video, Arganthonius quldam Gadi- 
bus, qui octoginta regnavit annos, centum viginti vixit) — 
sed mihi ne dititurnum quidem quicquam videtur in quo est 5 
aiiquid extremum. Cum enim id advenit, tum illud, quod 
praeteriit, effltixit ; tantum remanet, quod virtute et recte 
factis consecutus sis; horae quidem cedunt et dies et 
menses et annl, nee praeteritum tempus umquam reverti- 
tur, nee, quid sequatur, sciri potest ; quod cuique temporis lo 
70 ad Ylvendum datur, eo debet esse contentus. IS'eque enim 
histrioni, ut placeat, peragenda fabula est, modo, in quo- 
cumque fuerit actti, probetur, neque sapientibus usque ad 
^Plaudite' veniendum est. Breve enim tempus aetatis 
satis longum est ad bene honesteque vivendum ; sin proces- 15 
serit longius, non magis dolendum est, quam agricolae 
dolent praeterita verni temporis suavitate aestatem autum- 
numque venisse. Ver enim tamquam adulescentiam slg- 



Tartessiorum . . . Gadibus. The 

country about the mouth of the river 
Baetis, in southern Spain, of which 
Gades (Cadiz) was the principal city, 
was called Tartessus. 

ut scriptum video. Herodotus I. 
163, ervpavvevae de TapT7]<T(Tov 6y8dj- 
KovTa erea, e^iojae 5^ irdvTa etKoai Kal 
cKarop. Arganthonius belongs to the 
sixth century b.c. 

quod . . . esse contentus. Cf. 
Hor. Sat.l. 1, 117-119: — 

Inde fit, ut raro, qui se vixisse beatum 
Dicat, et, exacto contentus tempore, 

vita 
Cedat uti conviva satur, reperire 

queamus. 



Plaudite. Plays usually closed 
with this word. Cf. Plautus, Trin. ; 
also Hor. A, P. 155 : — 



Sessuri donee cantor 
dicat. 



vos plaudite ' 



It is the closing word in every one 
of Terence's six comedies. For the 
comparison of life to a play, see 
p. 50. 

Breve enim . . . vivendum. L. 
Huxley compares Ben Jonson's 
lines : — 

In small proportions we just beauties 

see. 
And in short measures life may 

perfect be. 



CHAPTER XX. 99 

nificat ostenditque frtictus fiituroS; reliqua autem tempora 
demetendls fructibus et percipiendls accommodata sunt. 

71 Fructus autem senecttitis est, ut saepe dixi, ante partorum 
bonorum memoria et copia. Omnia autem, quae secundum 
nattiram fiunt, sunt habenda in bonis. Quid est autem tam 5 
secundum nattiram quam senibus emorl ? Quod idem con- 
tingit adulescentibus adversante et repugnante natura. 
Itaque adulescentes mih.i mori sic videntur, ut cum aquae 
multitudine flammae vis opprimitur, senes autem sic, ut 
cum sua sponte nulla adhibita vi consumptus Ignis exstin- lo 
guitur; et quasi poma ex arboribus, cruda si sunt, vix 
evelluntur, si matura et cocta, decidunt, sic vltam adule- 
scentibus vis aufert, senibus maturitas ; quae quidem mihi 
tam iucunda est, ut, quo propius ad mortem accedam, quasi 
terram videre videar aliquandoque in portum ex longa i5 
navigatione esse venturus. 

XX. 

72 Senectiitis autem ntillus est certus terminus, recteque in 
ea vivitur, quoad mtinus offici exsequi et tueri possit [mor- 
temque contemnere] ; ex quo fit, ut animosior etiam senec- 
tus sit quam adulescentia et fortior. Hoc illud est, quod 20 



senibus maturitas. Cf . Job v. 26, 
'^ Thou Shalt come to thy grave in a 
full age, like as a shock of corn com- 
eth in his season"; also Words- 
worth's lines : — 
But an old age serene and bright, 
And lovely as a Lapland night, 
Shall lead thee to thy grave. 

aliquando. "At length " ; i.e. the 
desired haven has been reached. In 
II. 6, life is likened to a long journey 
by land. In Tusc. I. 49, 119, Cicero 



calls death "a harbor of refuge," 
portum potius paratum nobis et per- 
fiigium putemiis. Cf. Longfellow's 
sonnet on Old Age : — 

The course of my long life hath 

reached at last, 
In fragile bark o'er a tempestuous 

sea, 
The common harbor, where must 

rendered be 
Account of all the actions of the 

past. 



100 



CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE. 



Pisistrato tyranno a Solone responsum est, cum illi quae- 
renti, qua tandem re fretus sibi tam audaciter obsisteret, 
respoiidisse dicitur: ^ Senecttite.' Sed vivendT est finis 
optimus, cum Integra mente certisque sensibus opus ipsa 
suum eadem, quae coagmentavit, natura dis solvit. Ut 5 
navem, ut aedificium Idem destruit facillime, qui construxit, 
SIC hominem eadem optime, quae congltitinavit, natura dis- 
solvit. lam omnis conglutinatio recens aegre, inveterata 
facile divellitur. Ita fit, ut illud breve vitae reliquum nee 
avide adpetendum senibus nee sine causa deserendum sit ; lo 
73 vetatque Pythagoras iniussti imperatoris, id est del, de 



Pisistrato ... . responsum est. 

According to Plutarch, Solon, 31, this 
reply was made to others and not to 
Pisistratus directly. Pisistratus be- 
came despot of Athens 560 b.c, and 
held his position, except during a few 
years, until 627 b.c, when his two 
sons succeeded him in the govern- 
ment. His rule is said to have been, 
in the main, wise and conducive to 
the prosperity of Athens. Pisistratus 
founded a public library and also 
caused the works of Homer to be col- 
lected and edited. 

sine causa. Implying that suicide 
might be justified under certain cir- 
cumstances, — a doctrine held by the 
Stoics. Compare with this the teach- 
ing of Pythagoras given in the passage 
following. 

vetatque . . . decedere. Cf . Cic. 
Som. Scip. III. 7, Qua re et tibi, Piibli, 
etpiis omnibus retiiiendus animus est 
in custodia corporis^ nee iniussu eius 
a quo ille est vobis datus ex hominum 
vita migrandum est, ne munus huma- 
num adsignatum a deo defugisse vide- 



amini ; also Tusc. I. 30, 74. Plato 
in the Phaedo, 61, 62, represents 
Socrates as saying, "Then he, or any 
man who has the spirit of philosophy, 
will be willing to die, though he will 
not take his own life, for that is held 
not to be right." "There is a doc- 
trine uttered in secret that man is a 
prisoner who has no right to open the 
door of his prison and run away ; this 
is a great mystery, which I do not 
quite understand. Yet I, too, believe 
that the gods are our guardians, and 
that we are a possession of theirs." 
"Then there may be reason in say- 
ing that a man should wait, and not 
take his own life until God summons 
him, as he is now summoning me." 
Jowett's Trans. Cf. Tennyson's 
Lucretius : — 

Whether I mean this day to end 

myself. 
Or lend an ear to Plato where he says, 
That men like soldiers may not quit 

the post 
Allotted by the Gods. 



CHAPTER XX. 



101 



praesidio et statione vitae decedere. Solonis quidem sapi- 
entis est elogiunij quo se negat velle suam mortem dolore 
amicorum et lamentis vacare. Volt, credo, se esse carum 
suls ; sed hand scio an melius Ennius : 

Nemo me lacrumis decoret neque funera fletti 5 

Faxit. 

Non censet Itigendam esse mortem, quam immortalitas 
74 consequatur. lam sensus moriendi aliquis esse potest, isque 
ad exiguum tempus, praesertim sen! ; post mortem quidem 
sensus aut optandus aut ntillus est. Sed hoc meditatum ab 10 
adulescentia debet esse, mortem ut neglegamus, sine qua 
meditatione tranquillo animo esse nemo potest. Morien- 
dum enim certe est, et incertum an hoc ipso die. Mortem 
igitur omnibus horls impendentem timens qui poterit animo 
76 consistere ? De qua non ita longa disputatione opus esse 15 
videtur, cum recorder non L. Brtitum, qui in llberanda 
patria est interfectus, non duos Decios, qui ad voluntariam 



elogium. This saying has been 
preserved by Plutarch in his com- 
parison of Solon and Publicola. 
Cicero has thus translated it in 
Tusc. I. 49, 117 : — 

Mors mea ne careat lacrimis ; linqua- 

mus amicis 
Macro rem, ut celebrent funera cum 

gemitu. 

Nemo . . . Faxit. Cf. Tusc. I. 34, 
for the full form : — 

Nemo me lacrimis decoret nee funera 

fletu 
Paxit. Cur ? Volito vivus per ora 

virum. 

Cf. with this Wordsworth's trans- 
lation of Prancesco Ceni's epitaph : — 



Weep not, beloved Priends ! nor let 

the air 
For me with sighs be troubled. Not 

from life 
Have I been taken ; this is genuine 

life 
And this alone, — the life which now 

I live 
In peace eternal ; where desire and joy 
Together move in fellowship without 

end. 

L. Brutum, L. Junius Brutus, 
the leader of the people in the ex- 
pulsion of Tarquinius Superbus, and 
one of the first two consuls, 509 b.c. 
Tradition says he was slain in single 
combat by Aruns, the son of Tarquin. 



102 



CATO MAIOR DE SEXECTUTE. 



mortem cursum equorum incitayerunt, non M. Atilium, qui 
ad supplicium est profectus, ut Mem host! datam conserva- 
ret, non duos Scipiones, qui iter PoenTs vel corporibus suis 
obstruere voluerunt^ non avum tuum L. Paulum, qui morte 
luit conlegae in Cannensi ignominia temeritatem^ non M. 5 
Marcellum, cuius interitum ne crudelissimus quidem hostis 
honore sepulturae carere passus est, sed legiones nostras, 
quod scrips! in Originibus, in eum locum saepe profectas 
alacri animo et erecto, unde se redituras numquam arbitra- 
rentur. Quod igitur adulescentes, et ei quidem non solum lo 
indocti, sed etiam rustic!, contemnunt, id doct! senes exti- 



M. Atilium. M. Atilius Regulus, 
consul, 267 and 256 b.c. Cicero here 
refers to the story of Regulus' cap- 
ture by the Carthaginians in Africa, 
in the Eirst Punic War, his mission 
to Rome to effect an exchange of 
prisoners, his advice to the senate 
against this measure, and his volun- 
tary return to Carthage in accordance 
with the pledge he had given, if his 
errand proved fruitless. Cf. De Off. 
I. 13, 39 ; Hor. Odes III. 6, 41-56. 

conlegae. M. Terentius Yarro, 
whose rashness brought on the battle 
of Cannae, 216 b.c, in which Paulus 
was killed, and the Romans suffered 
a terrible defeat. Cf. Liv. XXII. 
45-50. 

M. Marcellum. M. Claudius Mar- 
cellus was consul ^"vq times. In his 
first term of office, 222 b.c, he slew 
the Insubrian chief, Yiridomarus, 
and obtained the spolia opima. In 
the Second Punic War he was known 
as the sword of Rome, as Fabius was 
called the shield, and succeeded in 
capturing Syracuse, 212 b.c, after a 



famous siege, in which the defenders 
of the city were greatly aided by 
the inventive genius of Archimedes. 
Marcellus was surprised by an am- 
buscade near Venusia, 208 b.c, and 
killed, in the sixtieth year of his age. 

crudelissimus . . . hostis. There 
is no reason for believing this epithet 
deserved by Hannibal. In fact, the 
instance here given would indicate 
that he was just the opposite in his 
treatment of the dead Marcellus. 
Hannibal's remarkable victories over 
the Romans rendered them incapable 
of taking an impartial view of his 
character. 

sed legiones nostras . . . arbi- 
trarentur. Cf. Tusc. I. 42, 101, 
where almost the same words are 
used ; also Tennyson's lines : — 

Was there a man dismayed ? 
Not though the soldier knew 
Some one had blundered : 
Theirs not to make reply, 
Theirs not to reason why, 
Theirs but to do and die. 



CHAPTER XXI. 



103 



76 mescent ? Omnino, ut mihi quidem videtur, studiorum 
omnmm satietas vitae facit satietatem. Sunt pueritiae 
' studia certa ; nuni igitiir ea desiderant adulescentes ? Sunt 
ineuntis adulescentiae ; num. ea constans iam requirit aetas, 
quae media dicitur ? Sunt etiam eius aetatis ; ne ea qui- 
dem quaeruntur in senectute. Sunt extrema quaedam 
studia senectutis; ergo, ut superiorum aetatum studia 
occidunt, sic occidunt etiam senectutis ; quod cum evenit, 
satietas vltae tempus maturum mortis adfert. 



XXI. 

77 Non enim video, cur, quid ipse sentiam de morte, non lo 
audeam vobis dicere, quod eo cernere mihi melius videor, 
quo ab ea propius absum. Ego vestros patres, P. Scipio, 
tuque, C. Laeli, viros clarissimos mihique amicissimos, 
vivere arbitror, et cam quidem vltam, quae est sola vita 
nominanda. Nam, dum sumus incltisi in his compagibus is 
corporis, mtinere quodam necessitatis et gravi opere per- 



Omnino . . . adfert. With this 
whole section compare the opening 
and closing lines of Browning's 
Bahhi Ben Ezra : — 

Grow old along with me ! 

The best is yet to be, 

The last of life, for which the first 

was made : 
Our times are in His hand 
Who saith, "A whole I planned, 
Youth shows but half ; trust God : 

see all, nor be afraid ! ' ' 

My times be in Thy hand ! 
Perfect the cup as planned ! 
Let age approve of youth, and death 
complete the same. 



constans . . . aetas. Cf. X. 33. 

For the periods into which the life of 
man was divided, see on senectutis, 
p. 47. 

vestrSs patres. Aemilius Paulus 
(cf. VI. 15) and C. Laelius, consul, 
190 B.C., the friend and companion 
of the elder Africanus, under whom 
he served in the Second Punic War, 
commanding the cavalry at the battle 
of Zama. 

inclusi . . . corporis. Cf. Scip. 
Som. III. 6, ei vivunt, qui e corpo- 
rum vinculis tamquam e carcere 
evolaverunt, vestra vero quae dicitur 
vita mors est; also De Am. IV. 14, 
ut optimi cuiusque animus in morte 
facillime evolet tamquam e custodia 



104 



CATO MAIOE DE SENECTUTE. 



fungimur j est enim animus caelestis ex altissimo domicilio 
depressus et quasi demersus in terram, locum divinae natu- 
rae aeternitatlque contrarium. Sed credo deos immortalis 
sparsisse animos in corpora humana^ ut essent/qui terras 
tuerentur, quique caelestium ordinem contemplantes imita- 
rentur eum vitae modo atque constantia. Kec me solum 
ratio ac disputatio impulit, ut ita crederem, sed nobilitas 
78 etiam summorum philosophorum et auctoritas. Audiebam 
Pythagoram Pythagoreosque, incolas paene nostros, qui 
essent ItalicI philosoplii quondam nominati, numquam 
dubitasse^ quin ex universa mente divlna delibatos animos 
haberemus. Demonstrabantur milii praeterea, quae Socra- 



10 



vincuUsque corporis. With this and 
the preceding passage, compare the 
lines of Browning : — 

Dying we live, 
Eretless and free, 

Soul, cap thy pinion ! 

Earth have dominion, 
Body, o'er thee ! 
***** 
Body may slumber ; 
Body shall cumber 

Soul-flight no more. 

qui terras tuerentur. Cf. Scip. 
Som. III. 7, Homines enim sunt hac 
lege generati^ qui tuerentur ilium 
globum . . . quae terra dicitur. 

contemplantes imitarentur. Cf. 
K. D. II. 14, 37, Ipse autem homo 
ortus est ad mundum contemplandum 
et imitandum ; also Tusc. I. 28, 69, 
hominem ipsum quasi contemplato- 
rem caeli ac deorum ipsorumque cul- 
torem ; and Plato's Timaeus, 47 
(Jowett's translation) : — 

"God invented and gave us sight 



to this end, — that we might behold 
the courses of intelligence in the 
heaven, and apply them to the courses 
of our own intelligence which are 
akin to them, the unperturbed to the 
perturbed ; and that we, learning 
them and being partakers of the true 
computations of nature, might imi- 
tate the absolutely unerring courses 
of God and regulate our own vaga- 
ries." 

incolas paene nostros. Pythag- 
oras lived and taught his philosophy 
at Grotona, in southern Italy. For 
this reason his school was called the 
Italic, and was thus distinguished 
from the schools afterward founded 
in Greece. 

delibatos. The soul of each man 
was a portion of the great world-soul. 
Cf. Tusc. Y. 13, 38. Humanus 
autem animus, decerptus ex mente 
divina, cum alio mdlo, nisi cum ipso 
deo, si hoc fas est dictu, comparari 
potest; N. D. I. 11, 27; Yerg. Aen. 
YI. 724-729. 



CHAPTER XXI. 



106 



tes supremo vitae die de immortalitate animorum disse- 
ruisset, is qui esset omnium sapientissimus oraculo ApoUi- 
nis iudicatus. Quid multa? Sic persuasi mihi, sic sentio, 
cum tanta celeritas animorum sit, tanta memoria praeteri- 
torum futurorumque prudentia, tot artes, tantae scientiae, 5 
tot inventa, non posse eam naturam, quae res eas contineat, 
esse mortalem, cumque semper agitetur animus nee princi- 
pium motus habeat, quia se ipse moveat, ne finem quidem 
habiturum esse motus, quia numquam se ipse sit relicturus, 
et, cum simplex animi esset nattira neque haberet in se lo 
quicquam admixtum dispar sui atque dissimile, non posse 
eum dividi; quod si non posset, non posse interire; magno- 
que esse argtimento homines scire pleraque ante quam nati 
sint, quod iam pueri, cum artis difficilis discant, ita celeriter 
res innumerabilis arripiant, ut eas non tum primum accipere is 
videantur, sed reminisci et recordarl. Haec Platonis fere. 



disseruisset. In Plato's Pliaedo. 

is qui . . . sapientissimus . . . 

iudicatus. Cf. Plato's Apology^ 5. 

tanta celeritas animSrum. Cf. 

Tiisc, I. 19, 43, nulla est celeritas^ 
quae possit cum animi celeritate con- 
tendere. 

Haec Platonis fere. The four 
arguments are based upon the ca- 
pacity., the self -activity^ the simplicity., 
and the preexistence of the soul. 
They are taken in part from the 
Phaedrus, and in part from the 
Phaedo. In one passage in the lat- 
ter (§80), Socrates says: "Is not 
the conclusion of the whole matter 
this, — that the soul is in the very 
likeness of the divine, and immortal, 
and intelligible, and uniform, and 
indissoluble, and unchangeable ; and 



the body is in the very likeness of 
the human and mortal, and unintel- 
ligible, and multiform, and dissoluble, 
and changeable?" Cf. Emerson's 
Old Age, closing paragraph: "I 
have heard, that, whenever the 
name of man is spoken, the doctrine 
of immortality is announced ; ^ it 
cleaves to his constitution. The mode 
of it baffles our wit, and no whisper 
comes to us from the other side. But 
the inference from the working of in- 
tellect, hiving knowledge, hiving 
skill, — at the end of life just ready 
to be born, affirms the inspirations of 
affection and of the moral sentiment." 
On the preexistence of the soul, cf. 
Wordsworth's famous lines in his 
ode, Intimations of Immortality from 
Becollections of Early Childhood: — 



106 



CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE. 



XXII. 

79 Apud Xenophontem aiitem moriens Cyrus maior haec 
dicit : ^ ^Nolite arbitrari, mihi carissimi filii, me, cum a 
vobis discessero, nusquam aut nullum fore. Nee eniin, 
duin eram vobiscum, animum meum videbatis, sed eum 
esse in hoc corpore ex eis rebus, qnas gerebam, intellege- 5 
batis. Eundem igitur esse creditote, etiamsi nullum vide- 

80 bitis. Nee vero clarorum virorum post mortem honores 
permanerent, sT nihil eorum ipsorum animi efficerent, quo 
diutius memoriam sui teneremus. Mihi quidem numquam 
persuader! potuit animos, dum in corporil3ns essent morta- lo 
libus, Ylvere, cum excessissent ex eis, emori, nee vero tum 
animum esse msipientem, cum ex insipienti corpore evasis- 
set, sed cum omni admixtione corporis liberatus purus et 



Our birth is but a sleep and a for- 
getting : 
The soul that rises with us, our life's 
Star, 
Hath had elsewhere its setting, 

And Cometh from afar : 
Not in entire forgetfulness. 
And not in utter nakedness. 
But trailing clouds of glory do we 
come 
From God, who is our home : 
Heaven lies about us in our infancy ! 
Shades of the prison-house begin to 
close 
Upon the growing boy. 

Apud Xenophontem. In the 

Cyropaedia^ VIII. 7, 17, of which 
Cicero has given a free rendering, 
omitting a few lines. 

Nee vero . . . teneremus. With 
this cf. Tusc. I. 15, 35, verisimile est, 
cum optimus quisque maxime posteri- 



tati serviat, esse aliquid, cuius is post 
mortem sensum sit hahiturus. With 
this and the following passage cf. 
Lowell's lines from his Elegy on 
the Death of Dr. Channing : — 

Therefore I cannot think thee wholly 
gone; 
The better part of thee is with us 
still ; 
Thy soul its hampering clay aside 
hath thrown. 
And only freer wrestles with the 
111. 
* * * 

And often, from 
on this 
Some gleams from great souls gone 
before may shine. 
To shed on struggling hearts a clearer 
bliss, 
And clothe the Right with luster 
more divine. 



* * * 

that other world. 



CHAPTER XXII. 



107 



integer esse coepisset, turn esse sapientem. Atque etiam 
cum hominis nattira morte dissolvitur, ceterarum rerum 
perspicuum est quo quaeque discedat; abeunt enim illtic 
omnia, unde orta sunt, animus autem solus, nee cum adest 
nee cum discedit, apparet. lam vero videtis nihil esse 5 
81 morti tam simile quam somnum. Atqui dormientium animi 
maxime declarant divinitatem suam; multa enim, cum 
remissl et liberi sunt, futtira prospiciunt. Ex quo intelle- 
gitur, quales futuri sint, cum se plane corporis vinculis 
relaxaverint. Quare, si haec ita sunt, sic me colitote,' lo 
inquit, ' ut deum ; sin una est interiturus animus cum cor- 
pore, vos tamen deos verentes, qui hanc omnem pulchritti- 
dinem tuentur et regunt, memoriam nostrl pie inviolateque 
servabitis.' 



abeunt . . . orta sunt. Cf. Ec- 

cles. xii. 7, ''Then shall the dust 
return to the earth as it was; and 
the spirit shall return unto God who 
gave it." 

nihil esse morti . . . somnum. 
Cf.Ov.^7>ior. 11.9,41, 

Stulte, quid est somnus, gelidae nisi 
mortis ima-go ? 

Horn. IL XIV. 231, 

Death's brother, Sleep ; 

Sir Wm. Jones, from the Persian : — 

So live, that sinking in thy last long 

sleep, 
Calm thou mayst smile, while all 

around thee weep ; 

Scott's Lady of the LaJce^ Cant. I. : — 

Sleep the sleep that knows not break- 
ing, 
Morn of toil, nor night of waking ; 



Bryant's Thanatopsis, last stanza : — 
So live, that when thy summons 

comes to join 
The innumerable caravan that moves 
To the pale realms of shade, where 

each shall take 
His chamber in the silent halls of 

death. 
Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at 

night. 
Scourged to his dungeon, but sus- 
tained and soothed 
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy 

grave 
Like one who wraps the drapery of 

his couch 
About him, and lies down to pleasant 

dreams. 

servabitis. Read Bacon's essay 
on Death, and Addison's Spectator, 
No. 133, in which the dying Epa- 
minondas says : "This is not the end 
of my life, my fellow-soldiers j it is 



108 



CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE. 



XXIII. 



10 



82 Cyrus quidem haec moriens ; nos, si placet, nostra videa- 
mus. Nemo umquam mihi, Scipio, persuadebit aut patrem 
tuum Panlum aut duos avos, Paulum et Africanum, aut 
African! patrem aut patruum aut multos praestantis viros, 
quos enumerare non est necesse, tanta esse conatos, quae 
ad posteritatis memoriam pertinerent, nisi animo cernerent 
posteritatem ad se ipsos pertinere. An censes, ut de me 
ipse aliquid more senum glorier, me tantos labores diurnos 
nocturnosque domi militiaeque suscepttirum f uisse, si eisdem 
finibus gloriam meam, quibus vitam, essem terminaturus ? 
Nonne melius multo f uisset otiosam aetatem et quietam sine 
tillo et labore et contentione tradticere ? Sed nescio quo modo 
animus erigens se posteritatem ita semper prospiciebat, 
quasi, cum excessisset e vita, tum denique victurus esset. 
Quod quidem ni ita se haberet, ut animi immortales essent, 15 
baud optimi ctiiusque animus maxime ad immortalitatem 

83 et gloriam niteretur. Quid ? quod sapientissimus quisque 
aequissimo animo moritur, stultissimus iniquissimo, nonne 
vobis videtur is animus, qui plus cernat et longius, videre 
se ad meliora proficisci, ille autem, cuius obtusior sit acies, 
non videre? Equidem efferor studio patres vestros, quos 
colui et dilexi, videndi, neque vero eos solos convenire aveo. 



20 



now your Epaminondas is born, who 
dies in so much glory." 

nostra, i.e. examples of this belief 
among Romans. 

tantos labores. Cf. Pro Arch. 
XI., Certe, si nihil animus praesen- 
tiret in posterum, et si, quibus regio- 
nihus vitae spatium circumscriptum 
est, eisden omnes cogitationes termi- 



naret suas, nee tantis se lahoribus 
frangeret neque tot curis vigiliisque 
angeretur nee toties de ipsa vita dimi- 
caret. 

ad meliora. With this passage cf . 
Browning's poem, Prospice : — 

For sudden the worst turns the best 
to the brave. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



109 



quos ipse cognovi, sed illos etiani, de quibus audivl et leg! 
et ipse conscripsi. Quo quidem me proficiscentem haud 
sane quis facile retraxerit nee tamquam Peliam recoxerit. 
Et SI quis deus mihi largiatur, ut ex hac aetate repuera- 
scam et in cunis vagiam, valde recusem nee vero velim 5 
84 quasi decurso spatio ad carceres a calce revocarl. Quid 
habet enim vita commodi ? Quid non potius laboris ? Sed 
habeat sane, habet eerte tamen aut satietatem aut modum. 
Non lubet enim mihi deplorare vitam, quod multl, et el 
docti, saepe fecerunt, neque me vixisse paenitet, quoniam lo 
ita vixi, ut non fmstra me natum existimem, et ex vita ita 



sed illos etiam. Cf. with this 
passage Plato, Apol. XXXII. 41 : 
''But if death is the journey to an- 
other place, and there, as men say, 
all the dead are, what good, O my 
friend and judges, can be greater 
than this? . . . What would not a 
man give if he might converse with 
Orpheus and Musaeus and Hesiod 
and Homer ? Nay, if this be true, 
let me die again and again. " 

Peliam. Medea, the famous sor- 
ceress, restored Aeson, the father of 
Jason, to youth, by cutting him up 
and boiling him. The daughters of 
Pelias, king of lolcos and half- 
brother of Aeson, tried the same 
experiment with their father, at the 
suggestion of Medea, but failed. 
Cicero confuses the two stories. 

carceres. A row of small, vaulted 
chambers, twelve or less in number, 
each large enough to hold a chariot 
and its horses. At the signal for the 
race, slaves threw open the folding 
doors in front of the carceres. 

calce. " The finish line. " A chalk 
line was drawn across the arena 



opposite the judge's box to mark the 
end of the course. On this and car- 
ceres^ above, see Smith's Diet. Antiq. 
vol. I. s.v. circus. Cf. De Am. 
XXY. 101, quibuscum tamquam e 
carceribus emissus sis, cum eisdem 
ad calcem, ut dicitur, pervenire. 
With this whole passage compare 
Byron's lines from A Fragment : — 
Could I remount the river of my 

years 
To the first fountain of our smiles 

and tears, 
I would not trace again the stream 

of hours 
Between their outworn banks of 

withered flowers. 
But bid it flow as now — until it glides 
Into the number of the nameless tides. 

Quid non potius laboris. Com- 
pare this with Ps. xc. 10, "yet is 
their strength labor and sorrow." 

ei docti. In Tusc. I. 34, 84, 
Cicero mentions Hegesias, who wrote 
^AwoKaprepQv, i.e. one who refrains 
from eating that he may die and be 
free from the troubles of life. 



110 



CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE. 



discedo tamquam ex hospitio, non tamquam e domo. Com- 
morandl enim natura devorsorium nobis, non habitandi 
dedit. O praeclarum diem, cum in illud divinum animo- 
rum concilium coetumque proficiscar cum que ex hac turba 
et conluvione discedam! Proficiscar enim non ad eos 5 
solum viros, de quibus ante dixi, verum etiam ad Catonem 
meum, quo nemo vir melior natus est, nemo pietate prae- 
stantior; cuius a me corpus est crematum, quod contra 
decuit, ab illo meum, animus vero non me deserens, sed 
respectans in ea profecto loca discessit, quo mihi ipsi 10 
cernebat esse veniendum. Quem ego meum casum fortiter 
ferre visus sum, non quo aequo animo ferrem, sed me ipse 
consolabar existimans non longlnquum inter nos digressum 
85 et discessum fore. His mihi rebus, Scipio (id enim te cum 
Laelio admirari solere dlxisti), levis est senectus, nee solum 15 
non molesta, sed etiam iucunda. Quod si in hoc erro, qui 
animos hominum immortalis esse credam, libenter erro nee 
mihi hunc errorem, quo delector, dum vivo, extorqueri volo ; 
sin mortuus, ut quidam mintiti philosophi censent, nihil 



non habitandi. Sc. locum. Cf. 
Heb. xiii. 14, "For here have we 
no continuing city, but we seek one 
to come." 

cum in illud ... discedam. 
Cf . Byron's lines : — 
But wherefore weep ? Her match- 
less spirit soars 
Beyond where splendid shines the 
orb of day ; 
And weeping angels lead her to 
those bowers 
Where endless pleasures virtue's 
deeds repay. 

Proficiscar ... ad Catonem 
meum. Cf.Whittier's Snow-Bound : — 



Alas for him who never sees 
The stars shine through his cypress- 
trees ! 
Who, hopeless, lays his dead away, 
Nor looks to see the breaking day 
Across the mournful marbles play ! 
Who hath not learned, in hours of 
faith, 
The truth to flesh and sense un- 
known, 
That Life is ever lord of Death, 
And Love can never lose its own ! 

libenter erro. For a similar senti- 
ment, cf. Tusc. I. 17, 39. Err are 
mehercide malo cum Platone . . . 
quam cum istis vera seiitire. 



CHAPTER XXni. 



Ill 



sentiam, non vereor, ne hiinc errorem meum pMlosophi 
mortui irrideant. Quod si non sumus immortales fnturl, 
tamen exstingui homini suo tempore optabile est. Nam 
habet nattira^ ut aliarum omnium rerum, sic vivendi modum. 
Senecttis autem aetatis est peractio tamquam fabulae, 
cuius defatigationem fugere debemus, praesertim aditincta 
satietate. 

Haec habni, de senectute quae dicerem ; ad quam utinam 
perveniatis ! ut ea, quae ex me audistis, re expert! probare 
possitis. 



10 



Quod SI non sumus . . . est. 

Contrast the uncertainty of philoso- 
phy with the certainty of revelation, 
2 Tim. i. 10, "But is now made mani- 
fest by the appearing of our Saviour 
Jesus Christ, who hath abolished 
death and hath brought life and im- 
mortality to light through the gospel." 
Nam habet . . . satietate. Ad- 
dison has taken this passage for the 
text of No. 153 of the Spectator. 
The old age of a frivolous life he de- 
scribes in No. 260, taking for the 
heading Horace, Ep. II. 2, 55 : — 

Singula de nobis anni praedantm^ 
euntes. 



On the possibility of usefulness, even 
in the last act {peractio) of the drama 
of life, cf. the closing lines of Long- 
fellow's Morituri Salutamus : — 

For age is opportunity no less 

Than youth itself, though in another 
dress. 

And as the evening twilight fades 
away 

The sky is filled with stars, invisi- 
ble by day. 

Haec habui . . . dicerem. Cf. 

the closing paragraph of the De Am., 
in which the same form of expression 
is employed. 



SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 

CONTAINING GRAMMATICAL REFERENCES, SUGGESTIONS UPON 
THE TRANSLATION OF DIFFICULT PASSAGES, AND TEXT- 
UAL NOTES. 



In the grammatical references those to Harkness are in full-faced type (100) ; those to 
Allen & Greenough in ordinary type (100) ; those to Gildersleeve (revised edition), in 
italics (100). 



I. 1. quid : adverbial accusative. 

adiuero : the full form would be adiuvero. The v has fallen out and u 
become short. 

levasso : for levavero. For an explanation of the form, see 240, 4 ; 128, 
e, 5 ; 131, 4, &, 1. 

coquit: most editors translate vexes, harasses. Shuckburgh renders, 
''which fixed (like a sting) in your breast now burns and tortures you." 
He thinks the metaphor is taken from a sting or poisoned dart which causes 
a lasting irritation and pain. The word is used figuratively by the poets 
and post-Augustan prose writers. It is found in Plant. Trin. 225 ; Yerg. 
Aen. VII. 345 ; Sil. XIV. 103 ; Quint. XII. 10, 77. 

versat : the original quantity of the vowel is retained in this instance. 
See 21, 1 ; 580, III. n. 2 ; 375, g, 5 ; 721, 

praemi : until the time of Augustus nouns in -ius and -inm formed the 
genitive in a single i. 

enim : here and with iiovi below, enim is affirmative rather than explan- 
atory. Observe its position. What other particles follow the same rule ? 

lUe vir : the shepherd. 

re: i.e. re familiarly of little wealth. The preposition might have been 
omitted, and then the construction would be an ablative of characteristic. 

plenus : final s is here elided, a common practice in the early poets ; but 
it was generally sounded in Cicero's time. See 608, 1, n. 3 ; 375, a ; 703, 3. 

fidei : trustworthiness. This form is older than fidel. See 120, 2 ; 72, n. ; 
63, 2, n. 1. 

quamquam : corrective, = Kairoi, and yet. etsi in § 2 has the same 

DE SENEC. — 8 113 



114 SUPPLEMENTARY XOTES. 

force ; but quamquam is more frequently used to modify a previous state- 
ment than etsi. 

SIC : Reid thinks the hne has been changed from the original and sic 
inserted to correspond with ut before Flamininum, 

que . . . que : rarely used for et . . . et except in poetry. 

novi : perfect with the force of the present. 

moderationem : self-control ; an observance of the proper limit (modus) ; 
keeping within due bounds. 

aequitatem : even balance ; to be taken like moderationem with animi. 

prudentiam : not "prudence," \)Vit practical wisdom^ good sense. 

eisdem rebus : the condition of the state after Caesar's death ; namely, the 
increasing power of Antony and the uncertainty as to his ultimate designs. 

me ipsum : in the same case as te. It is used instead of the more accurate 
quibiis ego ipse commoveor. 

gravius : the comparative has the force of "too." 

quarum : objective genitive. 

maior : i.e. too great to be set forth in this treatise. 

autem : however. For the exact force of the adversative particles, see 
554, III. 2 ; 156, b ; 483-491. 

ad te : i.e. dedicated to Atticus. 

2. certe : at least. 

adventantis : observe the iterative or intensive form of the verb ; coming 
rapidly on. 

etsi : see on quamquam above. 

te quidem : you surely^ whatever others might do. 

Sed : this indicates a return to the thought in Nunc . . . visum est, after 
a brief digression. 

eo munere . . . uteretur: such a gift as we might enjoy in common, 
eo is equivalent to tali. For the mood of uteretur , see 503, I. ; 320 ; 631, 1. 

confectio : the task of writing. 

effecerit : for the tense, see 495, VI. ; 287, c and rem. ; 513. 

cui qui . . . possit : equivalent to cum is, qui ei pareat . . . possit. 
Note the juxtaposition of the two relatives, possit is a subjunctive of cause 
or reason. It gives the reason for the very strong statement in the preced- 
ing sentence, Numquam . . . poterit. pareat depends upon possit and is 
attracted into the same mood. This seems to me the best explanation of 
the construction, and it is the one given by most editors. Reid, however, 
regards cui as simply connective, = et ei, and qui pareat . . . degere as a 
conditional sentence of irregular form (qui = siquis). 

omne tempus aetatis : every period of life. 



SECTIONS 3-4. 115 

3. Sed : see on sed above. 

ceteris: in the neuter gender. It refers to other philosophical topics, 
and not to other periods of life or to the political troubles of the day. It is 
proleptic or anticipatory in its use, looking forward to de senectute and 
excluding from present consideration all themes but that. Cicero had 
already discussed many philosophical questions, and had in mind additional 
treatises of a kindred nature, but now he proposed to write only on Old Age. 

diximus multa et saepe dicemus : observe the chiastic arrangement. 

misimus : the perfect here accords with the epistolary style. See 472, 1 ; 
282 ; 252. 

tribuimus : perfect tense. 

parum ... in fabula : i.e. if the principal speaker in the dialogue should 
be a mythical personage and not an actual historical character. 

esset : for the mood, see 486, I. n. 2 ; 311, a ; 600, 2. 

apud quern : at whose house. The scene is laid at the house of Cato, 
With this use of apud., cf . the Greek irapd and French chez. 

facimus : represent. It is used in the sense of inducimus. 

ferat : for the mood, see 516, 11. ; 341, d ; 541. 

Qui ; equivalent to et is. The relative is frequently employed in this 
manner to connect a sentence with the foregoing where the English would 
use a conjunction and demonstrative. See 453; 180, /; 610. For a 
fuller account of this usage, see Madvig, 448. 

eruditius : for the force of the comparative, see on gravius, § 1. Cicero 
here anticipates the criticism that he well knew would be urged against his 
representation of Cato as a man conversant with Greek philosophy and an 
admirer of Grecian culture. See Introduction, p. 35. 

suis libris : note the emphatic position of suis. 

plura : sc. dicer e. 

lam : straightway. 

explicabit : unfold. Cf. English explication. 

de senectute: observe the attributive arrangement, giving the preposi- 
tional phrase the force of an adjective. 

II. 4. cum hoc: "with this Laelius here present." Note the use of 
cum . . . cum, and see note on XIX. 67. 

rerum : objective genitive, limiting sapientiam. 

excellentem : superior, when compared with the wisdom of others. 

quod . . . senserim : the subjunctive is used with quod to assign a 
reason on the authority of a person other than the speaker. This principle 
of construction is also applied to a reason based upon the speaker's own 



116 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 

thought at some previous time. See 516, II. 1 ; 341, d, rem. ; 541 ; Madvig, 
357, a, 1 and 2. 

SIC : ita might have been employed, but sic, as a correlative to the following 
ut, is more emphatic. 

odiosa: disagreeable; it should not be rendered ''hateful." 

Quibus : the dative of possession. 

enim : certainly ; as in § 1. 

bene beateque vivendum : a pure and happy life. Cf . De Fin. V. 29, 88, 
Nee dubitatum, quin in virtute omnis, ut bene, sic etiam beate vivendi spes 
poneretur. 

ipsi : observe that the demonstrative is made to agree with the subject, 
and not with se. 

necessitas : law. 

adferat: subjunctive of characteristic ; see 503, I. ; 320 ; 631, 2. Some 
editors, however, regard quod as equal to si id, and the subjunctive conditional. 

Quo in genere : note the order. A monosyllabic preposition is often 
thus placed between a qualifying word and its noun, as quam ob rem, magna 
cum laude. 

ut . . . adeptam : chiastic arrangement. The reading, adept am, is not 
certain. Some MSS. and many editions have adepti, but the meaning is 
practically the same in either case. The objection to adeptam, that Cicero 
nowhere else uses it in the passive, is not conclusive, from the fact that he 
does sometimes employ the perfect participle of other deponent verbs in the 
passive, and Sallust, Cat. VII. 3, has adepta libertate; Tacitus, Ann. I. 7, 8, 
adepto principatu. 

stultitiae : translate, foolish men ; the abstract is here used for the 
concrete. 

aiunt : those who say this are the stulti implied in stultitiae. 

putassent : the subjunctive in a dependent clause in the indirect dis- 
course. The direct form would be putaveram. 

falsum : that which is untrue. Note the substantival use of the adjective. 

Qui : how. For this case-form, used as an adverb, see 188, II. 2 ; 104, c ; 
105, 3. 

Praeterita enim : enim is here explicative. See on I. 1. 

quam VIS longa : however long. 

cum effluxisset : the subjunctive is used because the clause depends 
upon posset. The case is a supposed one, and cum has practically the force 
of si, if 

cons51atio : this is the reading of the best MSS. Many editors prefer 
to follow inferior MSS., and read consolatione. 



SECTIONS 5-6. 117 

posset : for the mood, see on esset, I. 3. 

5. quae : see on qui^ I. 3. 

esset : this is a more modest form of wish than utinam sit. The imper- 
fect implies that Cato does not think his wisdom worthy of their admiration. 

tamquam deum : the masculine is here used in the generic sense, a divine 
being. Cf. Sen. Ben. TV. 7, 1, Quid enim aliud est natura quam deus et 
divina ratio toti miindo partihus eiiis inserta. 

a qua: equivalent to ah ea enim; the reference is to Nature, which is 
here personified. 

aetatis : employed in the sense of vitae. 

descriptae : some editors prefer discriptae, for which there is also MS. 
authority ; but descriptae, written out, seems to harmonize better with the 
context than discriptae, assigned. — Reid. 

inert! : indolent. 

fuit : i.e. it was and always will be. It is according to the nature of things. 

aliquid extremum : something final. 

bacis . . . fructibus : note the difference in the meaning of these words, 
here distinctly brought out by the genitives arborum and terrae. 

vietum : vimen and vitis have also the same root. 

caducum : ready to fall ; derived from cado. 

quod : but this. The leading thought is really found in this clause. 

ferundum : for this form, instead oiferendum, see 239 ; 126,f.-n. 2 ; 130, 8. 

molliter : with submission. 

Gigantum : see on Aetiia gravius, p. 48. For what else but resisting 
nature is equivalent to fighting as the giants did against the gods? The 
English arrangement of the clauses differs somewhat from the Latin. How- 
son gives a very concise rendering, ' ' Rebellion against nature is nothing else 
but war with the gods." 

6. Atqui : Reid translates, True, but. Atqui is here used to confirm the 
preceding statement, and also to add another point to the argument. 

nobis : explained by the clause, ut . . . pollicear. 

pollicear: to promise. The principal clause, on which the final clause 
depends, may sometimes be omitted, as in this instance. It must then be 
inferred from the context. 

feceris . . . didicerimus : future perfect tense, where the English would 
employ the simple future. In place of didicerimus, Gernhard suggested that 
si nos docueris, if you shall have taught us, would have been more natural 
after /6C6ns. The change was probably made because didicerimus puts the 
statement, which is practically a request, in a milder way, and also harmonizes 
with the intervening forms, speramus and volumus. 



118 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 

quibus . . . rationibus : how^ i.e. hy what course of reasoning. 

ingravescentem : note the inceptive force, beginning to grow heavy ^ 
becoming more and more biirdensome. 

possimus : the subjunctive used in a dependent question. 

vestrtim. Why vestrum and not vestri 9 

confeceris : for the mood, see 513, II. n. 1 ; 312, rem. ; 602. 

quam . . . ingrediundum sit : equivalent to quae . . . ingrediunda sit. 
For this construction see 371, I. 2, 2) n. ; 294 c. (where this example is 
cited). For the form ingrediundum^ see on ferundum^ II. 6. 

istuc: the object of videre. Note its force as the so-called demonstra- 
tive of the second person. With quo pervenisti it is equivalent to '' the end 
of your journey." 

III. 7. Faciam, ut potero : I will do the best I can. The Latin uses 
potero and not possum, because the time of the subordinate clause is in 
reality future. In English the future in the principal clause (faciam) is 
sufficient to indicate the real time involved in both clauses. See 470, 2 ; 
278, b ; 242, 1. 

interfui : interfui querelis here means, " I have been present when com- 
plaints were made," and so, *' I have heard the complaints." 

quae : a case of anacoluthon. The construction is changed after the 
parenthetical clause, pai^es autem. The words quae deplorare refer to the 
idea in querelis. The author proceeds to give specific instances of the com- 
plaints to which a general allusion is made in the first part of the sentence. 

consulares : ex-consuls. Cicero was quite careful to apply this term of 
respect to all who were entitled to it. He was very proud of the fact that 
he was himself a consularis. — Shuckburgh. 

nostri fere aequales : Cato was consul in the year 195 b.c. 

carerent . . . spernerentur: the subjunctive, because the reasons are 
stated on the authority of Salinator and Albinus. See on ferat, I. 3, and 
senserim, 11. 4. 

vitam nullam : " life was not worth the living." 

putarent . . . essent soliti : these verbs depend upon subjunctives and 
take the same mood ; see 529, II. n. 1, 1; 342 ; 663. 

Qui : see on I. 3. 

mihi : note its emphatic position. 

esset accusandum : for the mood, see on uteretur, I. 2. 

Nam : stronger than enim ; the latter is corroborative and explanatory, 
while nam formally introduces a real reason. See on enim, I. 1. 

id: refers to the two complaints mentioned above, carerent and sper- 



SECTIONS 7-9. 119 

nerentur, and treats them for the moment as involving but one idea ; namely, 
the hard lot of old age. 

accideret . . . venirent : observe the mood and tense. 

usu: usu venire, to come in experience, i.e. to happen, to occur. Some 
editors think usu may be a predicative dative. Roby, 1238, regards it as an 
ablative of manner. For the numerous instances of this expression in 
Cicero, see Harpers' Lat. Lex. s.v. usus, II. C. 2. 

quorum . . . querela : and yet I have observed that the old age of many 
of them is free from complaint. The phrase sine querela has the force of an 
adjective. The prepositions cum and sine are frequently used in such attrib- 
utive expressions. 

qui . . . ferrent : subjunctive of characteristic. 

non moleste: litotes, not ill, i.e. gladly, libenter. Instead of the usual 
nee . . . nee, the first connective is divided into et . . . non ; this throws 
the force of the negative particle on moleste, 

8. sed fortasse dixerit quispiam : hut perhaps some one may say. That 
this may be taken as the meaning of the Latin is perfectly apparent ; the 
exact construction of dixerit, however, is a mooted question. Many editors 
regard it as a potential subjunctive, in which the perfect has practically the 
same force as the present. Roby, vol. 11. Pref. pp. 101-106, after a careful 
consideration of the subject, inclines strongly to the opinion that the verb is 
future perfect indicative. 

opes : influence, in the state. 
copias : wealth. 

dignitatem : rank, high social standing. 

tblerabiliorem : observe the passive force of this verbal adjective, *'that 
which can be endured." 

id : i.e. the possession of so many desirable things ; such good fortune. 

istud : see on istuc, II. 6. 

levis . . . gravis : chiastic arrangement. 

nee . . . non gravis : nor can it fail to be burdensome. 

9. omnino : certainly. 
arma : defensive weapons. 
senectutis : subjective genitive. 

artes exercitationesque virtutum : knowledge and good deeds. With 
artes sc. liber ales. But Cicero has especially in mind the effect of artes 
liberales or optimae in giving one knowledge and intellectual power. 

cultae : the participle has a conditional force, if cultivated. 

cum . . . vixeris : for this use of the subjunctive in a general condition, 
see 518, 2 ; 309, a. 



120 SUPPLEMEXTARY NOTES. 

ecferunt : an earlier form for efferunt. 

numquam desenint : Reid very aptly compares this passage with Pro 
Arch. 7, at haec studia. 

quamquam : see on I. 1. 

conscientia . . . recordatio : observe the order. 

bene factorum : participles when used substantively sometimes retain 
their adverbial modifiers. 

lY. 10. Ego: emphatic. 

eum . . . recepit : these words are regarded as a gloss by some editors, 
but there seems to be no sufficient reason for rejecting them from the text. 
eum is in apposition with Maximum. 

comitate . . . gravitas: dignity seasoned with courtesy, condita is 
from condire. 

mores: character, disposition. 

Quamquam : corrective, as in I. 1. 

eum colere coepi : I learned to respect him. colere expresses the feeling 
of a young man for an older and more experienced friend. 

ad Capuam : for the use of ad with the name of a town, see 380, II. 1 
(1); 258,1, &, n. 2; 337,4. 

quadriemiio post : i.e. after an interval of four complete years. 

quem magistratum gessi : an office lohich I held. Quaestor implies 
quaesturam, which explains magistratum. 

cum quidem: =tum quidem cum, at that time namely, when. — Meissner. 

suasor . . . fuit : spoke in favor of. What kind of a noun is suasor 9 

cum : concessive. 

rem: i.e. rempuhlicam, 

Noenum : from ne + oenum (unum), an old form for non. Most editors 
follow Lachman, who suggested noenum in place of non enim of the MSS. 

rumores : the harsh reports circulated by those who were dissatisfied 
with Fabius' slow methods. Some, however, understand it in the sense of 
*'fame." 

ponebat : for the quantity of a, see on versat, I. 1. 

plusque magisque : the MS. reading is postque magisque. Bemays sug- 
gested p^i^sgwe, which Reid adopts ; Bergk proposed jjriwsg we and is followed 
by Sommerbrodt. 

11. cum quidem: see on § 10. 

in toga : in civil life, as a statesman. 

iterum : numeral adverbs are frequently used with official titles. 

viritim : among the plehs. 



SECTIONS 11-13. 121 

contra senatus auctoritatem : against the will of the senate. An auc- 
toritas senatus was a resolution passed by the senators as expressive of their 
sentiments, but lacking the completeness and legal force of a decree, con- 
sultum. In this instance the senate favored the aristocracy against the 
plebeians. 

dividenti : attempting to divide. 

cum esset : concessive. 

gererentur: the subjunctive because dependent upon an infinitive and 
essential to the general thought of the sentence. 

ferrentur: ferre legem is the regular Latin expression for the English, 
''to propose a law," '' to introduce a bill." For the mood of ferrentur^ see 
on gererentur^ above. 

12. admirabilius : more worthy of admiration. 

quo modo : equivalent to modum quo. 

in manibus : sc. omnium^ in every one^s hands, and so, well-knoicn. 

quam : = et eam. 

philosophum . » . contemnimus : the calm and dignified manner in 
which Fabius bore his grief at the loss of his son impressed Cato more forci- 
bly than any philosophical theorizing about the proper method of enduring 
such affliction. 

in luce : "in the light of publicity." 

in oculis : i.e. before his fellow-citizens, in their presence. It does not 
mean ''in their estimation." 

Qui . . . praecepta : what a gift he had for entertaining and instruct- 
ing ! — Meissner. 

Multae . . . litterae : he was well read for a Boman. This use of ut to 
limit a preceding statement is not uncommon. 

externa bella : the wars of foreign nations. 

ita : to be taken with fruebar. It is explained by quasi . . . divinarem. 

unde : equivalent to a quo. 

discerem: see on ferrent, III. 7. 

V. 13. Quorsus . . . tarn multa : sc. dixi ; some editors understand 
pertinent or spectant. For similar elliptical expressions, see XII. 42 ; 
XIII. 44. They naturally follow a lengthy exposition. 

Quia profecto : because certainly. The reply might have taken the form 
of a purpose clause, " That you might certainly see." 

senectutem : note its emphatic position at the close of the sentence. 

Nee : equivalent to et non, and yet all cannot be. 

Sclpiones . . . Maximi : such men as Scipio or Maximus. 



122 SUPPLEMENTARY :NrOTES. 

exptignationes : the plural of the abstract noun is used to denote fre- 
quent instances of the act. Abstracts in the plural are less common in 
English than in Latin. 

recordentur : for the cases admissible with recordor, see 407, n. 1 ; 
219, b ; 376, 2. 

Est . . . senectus : " A life passed with repose and refinement and taste 
has. for its part (etiam) a calm and gentle old age." — L. Huxley. Observe 
the connectives ; quiete corresponds to pure atque eleganter. 

qualem : sc. fuisse senectutem. 

vixitque : and yet he lived. The enclitic is adversative in force. 

cessavit : he was always at work, never idle. 

Qui, cum ex eo quaereretur : we might have expected Ex quo cum quae- 
reretur. The imperfect in quaereretur accords with the real time involved in 
the historical present, inquit. 

esse in vita : to live. The ancients believed suicide right and desirable 
under certain circumstances. 

quod accusem : for the construction after nihil habeo, see 503, I. n. 2 
(where this example is cited) ; 631, 2. 

docto homine : a philosopher. 

14. Sua . . . suam: emphatic. 

fortis : gallant. The lines are taken from the eighth book of the Annales. 

spatio . . . supremo : at the end of the race. 

Vicit Olympia : has luon the Olympic prize. Olympia may be regarded 
as a cognate accusative. This use of vincere is in imitation of the Greek 
'OXiy/ATTta plkcLp. The Olympic games, the greatest of the national festivals 
of the Greeks, were celebrated every four years at Olympia in Elis. 

c5nfectus: see on plenus, 1. 1. 

Quem . . . meminisse : for the accusative with meminisse, see 407, n. 
1 (2) ; 219, 2, a ; 376, 2. 

hi consules: the present consuls, namely in the year 150 b.c, the sup- 
posed date of the dialogue. 

magna voce et bonis lateribus : with loud voice and good lungs. 

15. Etenim: and indeed; this marks a transition to the real discussion 
of the subject, senectus. 

videatur : observe Cicero says not *' is," but seems. 

avocet . . . faciat . . . privet . . . absit: the subjunctive is used 
because the reason in each instance is not the speaker's, but one urged by 
those who find fault with old age ; see on ferat., I. 3. 

a rebus gerendis : from active duties. 

infirmius : weaker., than it had been before. 



SECTIONS 15-17. 123 

quanta quamque . . . iusta : how important and how reasonable. 

VI. A rebus . . . abstrahit : a statement of the topic to be discussed. 

Quibus : the preposition and verb are to be supplied from the preceding 
sentence. 

Aneis: there is an ellipsis of omnibusne, the first alternative. ''Does 
old age take us away from all duties, or only from those," etc. An affirma- 
tive answer to an eis is implied. See 353, 2, n. 4 ; 211, b ; 457. 

iuventute . . . et viribus: youthful vigor; an example of hendiadys. 

NuUaene : the interrogative particle is appended to the emphatic word. 

infirmis corporibus : ablative absolute ; equivalent to a concessive clause. 

animo : the intellectual power of old men is contrasted with the physical 
vigor of youth, iuventute et viribus. 

administrentur : the subjunctive of characteristic. 

cum . . . defendebant : cum is here merely temporal ; see 521, II. 1 ; 
325, a ; 580. 

16. non dubitavit : he did not hesitate. 

Quo vobis . . . viai : from the sixth book of the Annales. 

vobis : the dative of reference ; it may be translated your. 

Antehac : to be read as a dissyllable. 

dementes : observe the oxymoron, witless wits. 

vial : an old form of the genitive. It is to be taken as a partitive limit- 
ing Quo. 

et tamen : and yet. The meaning is this : it is not necessary to rely on 
Ennius' account of the speech ; the oration itself can be consulted at first 
hand. 

cum : though. 

censor : it was very unusual for one to be elected censor before he had 
held the consulship. 

grandem sane fuisse : as he was probably not less than forty- three when 
he was first made consul he must have been seventy or more at the outbreak 
of the war with Pyrrhus, 280 b.c. 

17. Nihil . . . adferunt : they prove nothing. 
negant : avoid the literal rendering, " deny." 

similesque sunt ut sT qui : an unusual combination, employed to intro- 
duce a supposed example, i.e. "It is about the same as if one should say that 
the pilot does nothing on the voyage." Those who declare that old age is 
idle, display as little reason as those who say the pilot has nothing to do. 

cum: causal, since. 

non faciat . . . iuvenes. At vero . . . facit : this is Reid's text. 



124 SUPPLEMEXTARY XOTES. 

Many editors prefer Non facit . . . facit. The MS. reading is facial . . . 
faciat, except in one instance in which facit is found in the last clause. 
Meissner brackets non facial . . .facial. 

maiora et meliora: i.e. involving more responsibility and contributing 
more to the safety of the others. 

quibus : note its twofold construction with orbari and augeri. 

18. Nisi forte : ironical. 

miles . . . consul : see Introduction, p. 33. Note the repetition of the 
connective.' 

genere : note the use of the singular where the English idiom requires 
the plural. 

male . . . cogitanti: Ireacherously plolling . 

iam diu . . . mult5 ante : the first expression emphasizes the continu- 
ance of the plotting ; the second shows that Cato began to urge war against 
Carthage long before it was officially declared. The present in denunlio 
implies that he has been and is still advocating the commencement of 
hostilities. 

excisam : some editors read exscissam from exscindo. 

19. utinam . . . tibi reservent: we are to remember the date of the 
supposed dialogue, 150 b.c, and the actual time of writing, 44 b.c. 

avi : P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus Maior. 

reliquias : that which was left unfinished by Scipio 's grandfather. With 
this construction cf . Yerg. Aen. I. 30, reliquias Danaum alque immilis Achilli. 

tertius . . . tricesimus : all the MSS. have terliiis^ which puts Scipio^s 
death in 183 b.c, and so agrees with Livy, XXXIX. 60. 10 ; but since this 
conflicts with the statement Anno ante me censorem and also with novem 
annis post . . . consulatum, tor Cato was consul 195 and censor 184 b.c, 
some editors read sextus or quiyitus, making 185 b.c the date of his death. 
This will remove the discrepancy, but involves a change in the text. The 
numbers YI. and III. might easily be confused by a copyist. 

itenim : to be taken with consul creatus est, elected consul for the second 
time, which would make his election fall in the year 195 and his term of 
office 194 B.C. 

Num : observe the force of the interrogative particle. 

paeniteret: the imperfect instead of the pluperfect, to denote continu- 
ance of the action. 

enim : enim presupposes a negative answer and gives the reason for such 
a reply. 

hastis : the allusion is really to the pilum, which was shorter than the 
hasta proper and was used for hurling long distances. 



SECTIONS 19-21. 125 

consilio . . . sententia: cf. consilio . . . sententia, § 17. 

quae : equivalent to et ea. The neuter is used because the antecedents 
are not of the same gender and do not refer to living beings. 

senatum : a body of old men. senatus and senex have the same root sen. 
Cf. also XVI. 56, senatores, id est series. 

20. voletis : note the exactness of the Latin in the use of the future in 
this instance. Ci. faciam ut potero, III. 7. 

externa : the history of foreign nations. 

Cedo . . . cito : the verse is an acatalectic iambic tetrameter. The 
spondee may take the place of the iambus in any foot except the last. The 
following is the scansion : — 



Cedo : give, tell ; an old imperative of uncertain origin. Its plural is cette. 

qui: how. 

tantam : "great as it v^as." 

percontantibus . . . respondentur ; suggested by Mommsen and adopted 
by Kornitzer in place of percontantur^ ut est in . . . Lndo ; respondentur. 

Ludo: neither the reading nor the meaning is very certain. It may 
be the particular name of the play or the general word for a dramatic 
production. 

Proveniebant . . . adulescentuli ; in the same measure as the preced- 
ing and scanned thus : — 

the spondee, or its equivalent, may replace the iambus except in the last 
foot ; accordingly we have the dactyl in the first and sixth places. 

Proveniebant: many editors take this as an agricultural term, "they 
were coming forward," or " springing up," i.e. as crops grow. 

VII. 21. At memoria minuitur : at introduces a supposed objection, 
stated merely for the purpose of refutation. 

Credo : in an ironical sense ; "undoubtedly." 

exerceas : for the mood and the use of the second person, see 508, 5, 2 ; 
309, a ; 595, 3. 

natura tardior : a little slow, or dull, naturally. 

aetate processisset : cf. aetate provectum, IV. 10. For the mood, see 
524 ; 336 B, a, n. 2 ; 650. 

qui Aristides . . . solitum : that he was accustomed to greet Aristides 
as Lysimachus. After the analogy of verbs of naming, salutare may take 



126 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 

two accusatives, but in this instance two accusatives would be ambiguous, 
therefore qui Aristides esset, the one who icas Aristides, is used in place of 
one. Lysimachum must be translated as Lysimachus^ i.e. he was not in 
the habit of taking Aristides for Lysimachus by mistake, esset is in the 
subjunctive because it depends upon an infinitive, see 529, II. n. 1. 1 ; 342 ; 
663. 

Equidem : from the interjection e + quidem ; usually employed with the 
first person singular ; for my part, so far as I am concerned. Observe that, 
unlike quidem, it may stand first in its clause. 

sunt : equivalent to vivunt. 

sepulcra : epitaphs. He was gathering material for his Origines. 

quod aiunt: itt aiunt and itt dicitur are more common in this sense. 
Long, in commenting on this passage, says: "It was, says Erasmus, a 
popular notion that it injured the memory to read sepulchral inscriptions. 
I do not know where Erasmus got this from." Otto, Sprichioorter der Bomer, 
p. 218, thinks these words have no reference to a proverb, but rather to a 
common superstition that one who spends his time in reading epitaphs and 
studying the history of ancient times is apt to forget the present and become 
unfitted for his ordinary duties. 

senem : used instead of a clause, lohen, or because^ he was an old man. 

vadimonia constituta: engagements at court. This expression applies 
to both plaintiff and defendant. To give bail is vadimonium promittere. 
Cf. Hor. Sat. I. 9, 36, et casu tunc respondere vadato Dehehat. 

22. Quid : for rhetorical effect in passing to another point. It may be 
rendered furthermore. The following nominatives are subjects of memine- 
runt, "Furthermore, how many things jurisconsults, pontiffs, augurs, and 
philosophers remember, even in their old age ! " 

ingenia: mental powers, I.e. their inborn talents. 

modo : provided, if only. 

hondratis : those who have held public offices, honores. It is contrasted 
^it\i privata ; so Claris with quieta. 

quod . . . cum : and when on account of his zeal for writing. 

rem . . . familiar em : his property. 

a filiis : according to the common version of the story, by his oldest son, 
lophon. 

in . . . vocatus est: a Roman legal expression. The first step in an 
action was the summons before the magistrate, vocatio in ius, to determine 
whether there was an actual cause for trial. 

nostro more : such provision was made by the law of the XII. Tables. 

male rem gerentibus : mismanaging their property. 



SECTIONS 22-25. 127 

patribus bonis interdici: patnhus is in the dative ; honis^ in the abla- 
tive, meaning, from the control of their property. For this construction, with 
interdici^ see Harpers' Lat. Lex. s.v. interdico, B, 8. 

earn f abulam : the play. 

in manibus : i.e. he was still engaged in perfecting it. The expression, 
in manihus^ in IV. 12, has a different meaning. 

proxime : lately. 

sententiis . . . est liberatus : he was acquitted by the votes of the 
judges. 

23. Num igitur hunc : Cato now mentions Greek poets and philosophers 
who continued their intellectual pursuits even in extreme old age. 

studiorum agitatio : " vigorous pursuit of their studies." 

24. Age : marking a transition in the discourse. 

ut . . . omittamus : a final clause. The verb on which it depends is to 
be supplied. 

possum : see on XVI. 55. 

ex . . . Sabino : where Cato had his country home. 

serendis . . . percipiendis . . . condendis fructibus : gerundive con- 
struction in the ablative of specification. In rendering, use the active form, 
in storing the produce. 

in aliis : proleptic ; i.e. in other things except the one which follows, 
namely, the planting of trees. Some editors prefer his^ which is the reading 
of one MS. 

annum: "one year more." 

idem : the nominative plural. 

Serit . . . prosint : the bacchius ( ^ Z. _) is the fundamental foot of 
the verse, which may be scanned as follows : — 



The final syllable in serit is made long by the ictus ; the last foot is a molos- 
sus, but some editors regard o in saeclo as short, an example of systole. 

quae . . . prosint: a final clause. 

saeclo : generation, 

25. quamvis sit: a concessive clause. 

haec : his estate. 

VIII. Caecilius : Caecilius Statins. 

alter! saeclo prospiciente : prospiciens with the dative means not only 
"looking forward to," but "looking out for." The allusion is to the quota- 
tion above, JSe^HC . . . prosint. 



128 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 

illud : the following. 

idem : i.e. Caecilius ; sc. dixit. 

Edepol . . . videt : taken from Caecilius' play entitled Plocium {The 
Necklace)^ based upon one of Menander's. The lines are iambic senarii and 
may be scanned as follows : — 

Edepol senectus si nil quicqu«"^ aliiid viti 
Adportes tecum, c^"* advenis, un^"* id sat est, 
Quod dill vivendo miilta, quae non volt videt. 

Edepol is an anapaest ; diu is pronounced as a monosyllable. Tischer, how- 
ever, scans quod diu. 

Edepol : formed from the old interjection e + deus + Pollux ; literally, 
Ah ! god Folliix ; render indeed., truly. 

quicquam : pleonastic with nil. 

vitT : from vitium. 

videt : experiences ; its subject, the indefinite one^ is implied in diu vivendo^ 
which is equal to si quis diu vivit. 

incurrit: a stronger word than incidit ; indicating the impetuosity of 
youth. 

Illud : see on illud above. 

vero . . . vitiosius : still more objectionable. 

Turn equidem . . . alter! : taken from a play of Caecilius entitled 
Ephesio ; in the same measure as the verses above and may be scanned 
thus : — 

^um equid^"* in senect* hoc d^puto miserrimum 
Sentir« e« aetat^ eumps« ess« odios^"* alteri. 

Observe the anapaest in the first line and the dactyl in the second. 

senecta : found mostly in poetry and post- Augustan prose. 

eumpse: archaic for ipsum, see 186, V. f.-n. 5; 100, c; 103, 3, n. 1. 
It refers to a person implied in the abstract senecta and is the subject of 
sentire. 

odiosum: disagreeable. 

26. indole : inborn, natural quality. Found only once in the plural, 
Gell. XIX. 12, 5. 

delectantur : take pleasure in. 

coluntur et diliguntur: are honored and esteemed, colere means to 
regard one with honor or reverence; diligere (dis + legere) implies love based 
upon respect ; amare, to love, from affection or passion. 

praeceptis: in the locative ablative ; see 425, II. 1. 1 ; 254, 5, 1. 



SECTIONS 26-27. 129 

minus : modifies iuczmdos. 

quam . . . iucundos : we might expect quam milii vos estis iucundi ; 
see on me ipsum, I. 1. 

Sed: hut to return to the point. With et melius Caecilius, Cato began a 
digression from the course of his argument. 

ut : an interrogative particle, how. 

senectus : abstract for concrete ; old men. 

moliens: undertaking. The participle differs from the verb here in 
emphasizing the continuance of the action. 

cuiusque : sc. senis. 

Quid . . . aliquid: " What shall v^e say of those who are always add- 
ing something to their knowledge." Quid is for rhetorical effect; see on 
VII. 22. 

et Solonem : contrasted with et ego^ below. 

senex : when I was an old man. 

SIC : to be taken with quasi and not with avide. 

exemplis : as illustrations. 

in fidibus : on the lyre. 

vellem : for the full construction, Lahmeyer cites Tusc. I. 41, 98, Equidem 
saepe emori^ si fieri posset, vellem. See 485 ; 486, I. n. 2 ; 311, a and b; 
257, n. 2. 

discebant . . . fidibus : sc. canere, to play upon. 

sed in . . . elaboravi ; but in literature, at least, I have accomplished 
something. 

IX. 27. Nee nunc quidem, etc. : Cato begins the refutation of the 
second charge against old age. iVec joins the sentence to the preceding and 
shows its negative character ; JVbr do I now indeed feel the loant of, etc. 

locus alter: the second topic. Cf. Y. lb, ^alteram quod corpus , . . in- 
firmius. 

non pliis quam : any more than. 

tauri aut elephant! : sc. vii^es. 

Quod est : sc. tibi. 

quicquid agas : the subjunctive is used in a general condition to denote 
the act of an indefinite subject, lohatever one does. 

Quae enim . . . Crotoniatae : a question implying a negative answer is 
here used, for rhetorical effect, instead of a direct statement. 

lacertSs: muscles, lacertus refers to the upper arm, from the elbow 
(ulna) to the shoulder (umerus), in distinction from the fore-arm (brac- 
chium) . 

DE SENEC. — 9 



130 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 

At: indicating emotion. It implies an ellipsis, "How I would like to 
exercise with you, but." — Sommerbrodt. 
istl : note the force of this demonstrative. 

ex te : i.e. on account of your intellectual ability and personal character, 
est provecta : continued. 
prudentia: sc. iuris. 

28. Orator : the position of the word shows that it is used to introduce 
a new topic ; As for the orator, I fear lest he he enfeebled by old age. 

Omnino : concessive, triie^ to he sure ; it is about equivalent to sane. 

canorum . . . splendescit: note the mixed metaphor, "sound shining 
with luster." Examples of a similar usage attributing brightness to sound 
are found among Greek writers. 

et videtis : et is adversative, and yet you see. 

Sed tamen : opposed to Omnino above. 

decorus: predicative. 

sen! : the reading of Madvig for senis. 

sermo : style of speaking. 

Scipioni . . . Laelio : a Scipio and a Laelius ; i.e. to young men like 
these. 

senectute stipata studiis iuventutis : observe the alliteration, and the 
use of abstract terms. Translate studiis iuventutis., by young men eager to 
learn. 

29. doceat, instituat . . . instruat : teach^ train, prepare. 
consenuerint . . . defecerint : for the mood, see 515, IIL,.n. 3; 313, 

a; 606. 

Etsi: see on quamquam, I. 1. 

30. quidem : used to introduce an important illustration, Cyrus for example. 
moriens : "on his death -bed." 

cum . . . esset : concessive ; to be taken with the following clause. 

admodum senex : he is said to have been seventy. 

negat : the present may be used of authors whose works are extant ; see 
467, 3 ; 276, /. 

cum: although. 

bonis . . . viribus : the ablative of characteristic. 

esse : for the present infinitive depending upon memini, see 537, 1 ; 
336, A, n. 1 ; 281, 2, n. 

Nihil : to be taken with necesse. 

mihi: the dative depends upon necesse est, and is used instead of the 
accusative, to emphasize the person. 

id : refers to de me ipso dicer e. 



SECTIONS 31-33. 131 

X. 31. Videtisne: ne appended to the principal verb often has the 
force of nonne, and expects the answer yes. 

ut : hoio, 

praedicet: boasts. 

videbat: this is a better reading than vivebatj which some editors 
adopt. 

vera praedicans : the participle takes the place of a conditional clause. 

insolens : arrogant. 

Etenim : adds a statement corroborative of the foregoing. 

egebat: egere, to be destitute of something which one needs; indigere^ to 
feel the need^ differing from egere in emphasizing the sense of need rather 
than the need itself ; desiderare, to miss, to long for; requirere, to ask back 
again, i.e. to feel the loss and ask to have it repaired ; carere, to be without, 
— generally, though not always, in reference to something desirable; opus 
esse, to need something for use ; vacare, to be free from, — usually in respect 
to what is undesirable. 

dux ille Graeciae : Agamemnon, ille in the sense of that well-knoion, 
famous. 

nusquam : nowhere in the Hiad or Odyssey. 

Aiacis : for the case, see 391, II. 4 (2) ; 234, d, 2 ; 359, Rem. 1. 

acciderit : in the subjunctive because in a dependent clause in the oratio 
obliqua; see 525, 2 ; 337 ; 656, 661. 

32. Quartum . . . octogesimum : I am in my eighty-fourth year. 
vellem : see on VIII. 26. 

idem : the neuter pronoun used as cognate accusative after gloriari. 

possem: ut is sometimes omitted, especially after volo, malo, nolo, facio, 

quod : as. 

miles . . . quaestor : cf. lY. 10. 

depugnavi : the indicative emphasizes the fact stated. 

sed . . . enervavit : a return to the direct discourse. 

hospites: guest-friends ; i.e. friends from foreign cities and countries. 

fieri : after monet the subjunctive might have been used. 

mallem : see on vellem above. Cato takes the proverb literally, whereas 
it simply means that one must begin in early years to live prudently, if one 
desires to reach a good old age. 

cui . . . occupatus : ' ' whom I refused to see, on the plea that I was 
occupied." 

fuerim : subjunctive of characteristic introduced by cui. 

At: see on VII. 21. 

33. "NLoderatid: proper control, right use. 



132 SUPPLEMENTARY XOTES. 

modo : see on VII. 22. 

ne : truly. For its form and use, see Harpers' Lat. Lex. 

non . . . desiderio tenebitur : will not greatly feel the lack, stronger 
than 7ion desiderahit. 

Olympiae : in the locative like names of towns. 

cum . . . sustineret : translate by the present participle, hearing on his 
shoulder's. Many editors cite Quint. I. 9. 5, Milo, quern vitulum assueverat 
ferre, taurum ferehat. 

has corporis : Milo's physical strength. 

malis : potential subjunctive in an interrogative sentence. Cf . mallem, 
§ 32, and note the force of the tense in each. 

utare . . . requTras: for the mood and tense of these two verbs, see 
484, IV. n. 2 ; 489, 3 ; 266, a ; 269, b ; 263, 2, a. 

dum adsit, cum absit : dum and cum are simply temporal ; adsit depends 
upon utare, and absit upon requiras. 

nisi forte : see on VI. 18. 

aetate progress! : cf. aetate processisset, VII. 21. 

requirere : see on egebat, X. 31. 

infirmitas . . . maturitas : note the apt terms chosen to characterize 
each period of life. 

suo : its own ; i.e. at the fitting time. 

percipi : this is used of the gathering of ripe fruit. Cf . VII. 24, percipi- 
endis . . . fructibus. 

34. Audire : the present audire is used with the force of the perfect, 
like the Greek dKorjcLv ; I think you have heard, and so, I think you are 
info7*med. — Meissner. 

capite operto : predicate ablative of characteristic. 

siccitatem : this term applies to the body of an athlete in training ; it 
denotes hardness of flesh and freedom from humors, impurities, and flabbi- 
ness. 

XL Non sunt . . . vires : this states a defect in old age for the purpose 
of showing that it does not necessarily render it unhappy. Some editors 
read ne sint. 

a senectute: from old men; the abstract for the concrete as in the 
preceding sentence. 

legibus et institutis : by law and custom. 

non modo: for 7ion modo non; the second non is usually omitted before 
sed ne . . . quidem when the verb of the second clause belongs also to the 
first. See 552, 2 ; 149, e ; 482, 5. 1. 



SECTIONS 34-37. 133 

quod: adverbial accusative. For this construction, cogi aliqidd, see 
Harpers' Lat. Lex. s.v. cogo, II. B, 1 ; cf. also Yerg. Aen. III. 56 : — 

Quid non mortalia pectora cogis 9 

35. At : see on VII. 21. 
At id : the reply to at multi. 

valetudinis: valetudo means simply state of health; whether good or 
bad will be determined by the context. 

is : in apposition with filius. 

valetudine : see on capite operto, X. 34. 

alterum : second only to his father. 

illud : it stands for ille. but agrees with lumen in gender. 

paternam . . . animi: the sou had inherited the father's greatness of 
soul. 

Resistendum : emphasized by its position. 

vitia : deficiencies. 

dUigentia: about equivalent to diligenti cura valetudinis., as shown by 
the following sentence. 

36. utendum exercitationibus : for the construction, see 544, 2, n. 
5; 294, c; 427,4.. 

tantum . only so much. 

non : note the asyndeton ; we would expect et or sed non. 

menti atque animo : the intellect and soul. 

haec : neuter plural, referring to menti atque animo. See 445, 3, n. 1 ; 
198, a. 

lumini oleum: instilles admits the dative and accusative. 

instHles: for the mood, see on exerceas, YII. 21. 

quos ait : sc. esse. 

cdmicos . . . senes : the stupid old men in the play. The quotation is 
given more fully in De Am. XXVI. 99. 

hos significat : by these he means, significat, after the analogy of verbs 
of naming, admits two accusatives; cf. salutare, VII. 21. 

dissolutos : careless, broken down. 

quae vitia sunt: faults which belong. For this use of the relative, cf. 
quem magistratum, IV. 10. 

deliratio: dotage. For its derivation, see Harpers' Lat. Lex. s.v. 

37. robustos: sturdy. 

tantas clientelas : so many dependents. 

et caecus et senex : note the emphatic position and the concessive force. 

in suos : over his household. 



134 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 

metuebant, verebantur : the distinction in the meaning of these verbs 
may be gathered from the subjects, servi, liheri. Cf. the English revere. 

vigebat . . . disciplina : the reading is doubtful. Reid has v. i. illo 
animus patrius et d. ; Sommerbrodt, v. i. ilia domo patrii moris d. ; still other 
readings are given, patrius; of our fathers. 

38. Ita : restrictive, equivalent to ea lege, on this condition. 

emancipata est : primarily a legal expression, emancipo meant strictly 
to put a son out of the hand and power of the father. This was accomplished 
at first by three fictitious sales ; in later times by a simple declaration before 
the proper magistrate, emancipo was also used in a wider sense to denote the 
transfer of ownership in property from one person to another. Again, it 
was employed, apart from its legal significance, in the general sense of giving 
up, or surrendering something to another. 

in manibus : see on YII. 22. 

causarum . . . defend! : of all the famous causes in which I have 
appeared as advocate. 

nunc . . . maxime : at this very time. The expression is elliptical ; see 
Harpers' Lat. Lex. s.v. Cum^ G, 1, h. 

conficio : compose ; he was preparing his speeches for publication. 

exercendae . . . gratia : the practice of the Pythagoreans was for moral 
discipline rather than for exercise of the memory, merely. 

desidero : miss ; see on egebat, X. 31. 

Adsum: laid my friends in court; especially as an advocate. 

frequens : an adjective where the English idiom would require an ad- 
verb. 

ultro : of my own accord. The senators might branch off into a discus- 
sion of almost any subject they chose when giving their opinion upon the 
question proposed by the presiding officer. 

lectulus: a couch. The Romans usually reclined when engaged in 
literary labor of any kind. 

viventT : the dative of reference, see 384, 4, n. 3 ; 235 ; 352. Some 
editors take it as depending upon obrepat. 

sensim sine sensu aetas senescit : the alliteration (ss, s, ss, s, ss) 
corresponds to the gradual fading away of the life of an old man. — Som- 
merbrodt. 

XII. 39. vituperatio senectutis : charge against old age. 

quod . . . dicunt : the full construction would be, quod, ut dicunt, careat 
or caret. For the construction in the text, an infinitive depending upon a 
verb of saying, see 516, II. 1. 



SECTIOXS 39-42. 135 

voluptatibus : sensual pleasure. 

aetatis : for senectutis. 

quae . . . est : ichich loas reported to me. 

cum . . . Q. Maximo : cf . IV. 10. adulescens is in apposition with the 
subject of essem. 

capitaliorem : moi^e deadly. 

a natura : see on a qua, II. 5. 

cuius voluptatis : dependent upon avidae. 

ad potiendum : so. vohiptate. 

incitarentur : the mood is due to the indirect discourse. The tense 
conforms to that of dicebat. 

40. Hinc : from this source. 

impelleret : its object is homines understood. For the mood, see on 
incitarentur, above. The clause also characterizes scelus and malum f acinus. 

vero : adds a still stronger statement. 

flagitium : disgraceful deed ; scelus means crime ; f acinus was primarily 
a deed, then it came to be taken in a bad sense, evil deed ; a crime against 
the gods is nefas; libido differs from these words in referring to the desire, 
rather than to the accomplished deed. 

cumque : and while. The clause is a continuation of the oratio obliqua. 

sive . . . sive : for the use of the disjunctives, aut, sive, vel, see 554, 
II. 2, 3; 156, c; 492-497. 

41. in . . . regno : " where pleasure is king." — Shuckburgh. 

quo : for the subjunctive with quo = ut eo, see 497, II. 2 ; 317, 6 ; 545,2. 

tanta . . . maxima: one excited by the greatest pleasure that could 
possibly be experienced. For tanta . . . quanta . . . maxima, cf. De Am. 
XX. 74. 

tam diu, dum : so long as. Cicero has the same expression in Cat. III. 7. 

nihil agitare mente . . . posset : mens is the intellect ; ratio and cogi- 
tatio refer to intellectual processes. A person, under the supposed circum- 
stances, would lose control of his mind ; he could neither reason nor reflect. 

siquidem: literally, if indeed; it is about equivalent to since. 

maior . . . longinquior : the comparative has the force of too, or very. 

locutmn : sc. esse ; predicate of Archytam. 

42. Quorsus hoc : see on V. 13. 

ut intellegeretis : see on Quia profecto, V. 13. The imperfect is due to 
an implied dicebam or dixi upon which the clause Quorsus hoc depends. 

efficeret : for the mood, see on ferrent. III. 7 ; for the tense, on intell^- 
geretis, above. 

ut ita dicam : to soften the metaphor. 



136 SUPPLEMENTARY iSTOTES. 

oculos : a rare use of oculus ; acies is the regular term in this sense. 

commercium : intercourse. 

Invitus : see on frequens^ XI. 38. 

fuisset ; the mood is due to eicerem. 

notandam : branded. The allusion is to the nota censoria affixed to the 
names of those who were to be degraded in rank ; see Harpers' Lat. Lex. 
s.v. 7iota, II. B. 2. 

in Gallia : this means that he served in Gaul during his consulship ; see 
on L. Flaynininum, p. 80. 

ut securi feriret : to behead. 

essent : see on fuisset above. 

damnati . . . capitalis : condemned to death. Livy, XXXIX. 42, says 
the person killed was a Boian of high rank who had come with his family to 
ask the consul for protection. 

quae : causal ; equivalent to cum ea, since it. 

imperi : opposed to privato. While serving as consul he represented the 
Roman people. The disgrace was double, affecting both the man himself 
and the nation. 

XIII. 43. audivi ex : observe a senihus, a Thessalo, and ex eo, below ; 
the ablative with de may also be used. 

se porro pueros : that they in turn when boys. 

esse quendam Athenis : that there was a certain one at Athens ; the 
reference is to Epicurus ; esse shows that he was living at the time Fabricius 
met Cineas. 

qui se . . . profiteretur : i.e. he was a philosopher by profession. 

omnia quae faceremus . . . referenda : all we do ought to be judged 
according to the standard of pleasure, faceremus takes its tense from dice- 
bant. In English we would use the present. 

optare : to express the ivish. 

id : id may be regarded as the accusative of extent, or as a nominative, 
modifying the impersonal subject oi persuader etur. See Roby 1423. 

Samnitibus : the dative depending upon the verb used impersonally in 
the passive. 

quo : see on XII. 41. 

Vixerat . . . cum: i.e. Curius had been a contemporary and friend of 
Decius. 

eundem: Decius. 

Deci : in apposition with eius. 

profecto : assuredly. 



SECTIONS 43-46. 137 

sua sponte : for its own sake ; i.e. regardless of all external considerations. 
optimus quisque : all good men; see 458, 1 ; 93, c ; 318^ 2. 

44. Quorsus : cf. XII. 42. 

Quia . . . quod : quia regularly introduces a fact ; quod either a fact, 
or a statement ; see 156, /. 

Caret: see on egehat, X. 31. 

exstructis : heaped up, loaded with food. 

vinulentia . . . cruditate . . . insomniis : drunkenness, indigestion, 
and sleeplessness. 

Sed . . . est voluptatT : hut if some concession must he made to 
pleasure. 

quoniam : see on quia and quod, above. 

divine : about equivalent to praeclare, admirably. 

capiantur : the subjunctive because the reason is Plato's. 

modicis . . . conviviis: reasonable entertainments. 

primus : was the first to ; for this use of the adjective, see 442 ; 191 ; 
325, 7. 

cereo funali : the MSS. have crehro or credo. Mommsen, following Manu- 
tius, prefers cereo, and this reading has been adopted by a number of editors. 

nullo exemplo : with no precedent. 

privatus : after the expiration of his term of office. 

45. Sed . . . alios : sc. commemoro. 
Ad me . . . revertar : cf . X. 32. 

Primum : instead of a corresponding deinde we find quoque, XIV. 46. 

aetatis ; ''belonging to that time of life" ; aetas has here the force of 
iuventus. 

amicorum : to be taken with coetu and sermonihus. 

convivium : " a living together." 

tum . . . tum : sometimes . . . sometimes. 

compotationem : o-vinroaLov. 

concenatidnem : a-ijvdenrvoi'. 

in eo genere : sc. rerum. 

id : the physical part of the feast in distinction from the good-fellowship 
and intellectual enjoyment. 

XIV. 46. tempestivis . . . conviviis : early banquets. The usual hour 
for dinner was the ninth, about three o'clock in summer, and two in winter. 
A tempestivum convivium began before the customary hour. These pro- 
tracted banquets were often attended with over-indulgence in eating and 
drinking. 



138 



SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 



quoque : see on primum, XIII. 45. 

qui . . . restant : of whom very few survive. For qui pauci, see 397, 
2, n. ; 216, e ; 370, 2. 

cum . . . aetate : the abstract for the concrete ; translate, with men of 
your age. 

quae . . . auxit . . . sustulit : the indicative states the reason simply as 
a fact. Note the omission of a connective between the two clauses. For the 
sentiment, cf . Plato, Bep. 1. 328, '' I find that at my time of life, as the pleasures 
and delights of the body fade away, the love of discourse grows upon me." 

ista ; with a tone of contempt. 

ne . . . videar : for the omission of the principal clause on which the 
final depends, see 499, 2, n. ; 317, c. 

cuius . . . modus : this departs from the strict teaching of the Stoics. 
The force of the statement is softened by fortasse. 

non . . . ne . . . quidem : ne quidem emphasizes the negation ; see 
553, 2 ; 209, a, 1 ; 445, 

a summo : the following diagram shows the arrangement of the couches 
and the position of the guests. The cup passed from left to right, beginning 



summus 


1 




9 


imus 


medius 


2 




8 


medius 


imus 


3 




7 


summus 




4 


5 


6 






CQ 










^ 


OQ 








B 


S 


OQ 






B 


a 


a 





lectus medius 



adhibetur in poculo : is carried on over the cups. 

minuta atque rorantia : small cups from which the wine is merely 
sipped ; literally, from which it flows drop by drop. 

refrigeratio : some editors refer this to the cooling of the wine by artificial 
means ; others, to the place where the banquet was held, a cool apartment, 
or a cool retreat. The second explanation seems to be the better one. It 
was common to have a dining room in the cool part of the house, for summer 
use ; and another, exposed to the sun, and artificially heated, for occupation 
in winter. 



SECTIONS 46-49. 139 

quae : see on Qui, I. 3. 

in Sabinis : sc. agris. Cato had a country estate at Tusculum, in the 
Sabme hills. 

vicinorum : in the genitive depending upon compleo, which, however, 
often takes the ablative. See 410, Y. 1 ; 248, c, 2, rem. ; 383, 1 ; Draeger, 
Syntax, I. p. 568 (where this example is cited). Reid makes it depend upon 
convivium, 

ad multam noctem : till late at night. 

quam maxime possumus : emphatic expression. 

47. At: see on VII. 21. 

tanta . . . titillatio : so keen a relish. — Crowell. This is used for the 
Greek yapyaXicrfjiSs ; quasi implies that the Latin term does not exactly 
translate the original ; cf. Cic. iV. Z>. I. 40, 113, quibus quasi titillatio (Epicuri 
enim hoc verhum est) adhibetur sensibus. 

quod . . . desideres : for the mood, see 507, 2 ; 316 ; 593. For the 
force of the verb, see on egebat, X. 31. 

Sophocles: sc. dixit. 

Dimeliora: God forbid I sc. duint (archaic for dent). The story is 
taken from Plato, Bep. I. 329. 

istinc : referring to rebus veneriis. 

agresti: icild. 

hoc non desiderare : used as the subject of esse. 

48. Quod SI : but if. 

bona aetas: i.e. adulescentia, youth. 

potitur: used instead of fruitur, for variety. 

Turpione Ambivio : the cognomen is often placed before the nomen 
when the praenomen is omitted. 

in prima cavea : the front seats. The term cavea applied to the whole 
auditorium, which was semicircular in form, and provided with ascending 
tiers of seats. Prima or ima, media, and summa or ultima designated the 
three grades of seats occupied respectively by the highest, middle, and lowest 
classes of citizens. There were no permanent theaters in Cato's time. 
Cicero's language strictly applies to his own day, and not to the supposed 
time of the dialogue. 

propter : an adverb, close by, near at hand. 

tantum . . . est : to be taken with delectatur. 

49. ilia: the following ; explained by awim?^^ . . . vivere. 

otiosa senectute : free from public duties ; devoted to study and self- 
improvement. 

describere : the regular term for mathematical drawing. 



140 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. . 

oppressit: surprised. 

50. actitis : i.e. those which require muteness of intellect. 
docuisset : the manager taught the play to the actors ; translate, had 

brought out on the stage. 

processit aetate : lived on; cf. aetate processisset, VII. 21. 

loquar : deliberative subjunctive. 

senes : having the force of a temporal clause. 

exerceri : reflexive in force. 

comparandae : can he compared. The gerundive in a negative sentence, 
or in a question suggesting a negative ansv^er, has the force of possibility. 

illud : that well-known. 

ante dixi : in YIII. 26. 

51. Habent . . . rationem : the subject refers to agricolarum. habere 
rationem is a commercial expression, to have an account with. 

recusat imperium : cf . Tac. Germ. 26, sola terrae seges imperatur. 

plerumque : stands in place of a second alias. 

Quamquam : see on I. 1. 

VIS ac natura : hendiadys ; the natural force. 

Quae : see on qui^ I. 3. 

gremio: note the omission of the preposition. The word is used figu- 
ratively, '' in the lap of mother earth." 

occaecatum : hidden from the light. 

occatio : harrowing. This is not connected with occaecatum ; but comes 
from occare., root AC. 

tepef actum : accusative ; sc. semen. 

vapore : heat. 

diffundit : it causes the seed to expand. 

viriditatem : a green shoot; abstract for concrete. 

fibris stirpium : fibers of the roots. 

culmo . . . geniculato : on its jointed stalk. 

vaginis : translate in the singular, a sheath. 

quasi pubescens : as if maturing. 

spici : from spicum ; limiting ordine. 

52. commemorem : see on loquar, XIV. 60. 

ut . . . noscatis : there is an ellipsis of the governing clause, *'I say 
this," that. See on we . . . videar, XIV. 46. 

omnium quae . . . e terra : the Latin has no one substantive which can 
be used in this comprehensive sense. — Meissner. 

tantulo : note the force of the diminutive and the omission of its correl- 
ative term. 



J 



SECTIONS 52-54. 141 

procreet : subjunctive of characteristic. 

Malleoli : mallet-shoots^ so called because of the form in which they were 
cut. 

plantae : slips y cut from the main stock. 

sarmenta : vine-cuttings, from the branches. 

viviradices : quick-sets ; they had already taken root. 

propagiues: layers; branches bent to the ground and allowed to take 
root. 

fertur: sinks. 

eadem : this repeats the subject vitis^ which is separated from its verb by 
the relative clause. 

quam serpentem . . . erratico : serpentem has about the force of a con- 
ditional clause, and if it creeps along in its irregular, xoinding course. 

ars agricolarum : the abstract for the concrete ; the skillful husband- 
men, 

ne . . . sarmentis : lest it run to wood. 

53. exsistit : sprouts out, springs up. 

ea quae : they take their gender from gemma, 

gemma: eye, hud. This is the original meaning of the word, and not 
jewel or precious stone. See Harpers' Lat, Lex. s.v. 

nee . . . et : instead of nee . . . nee. Translate, it neither lacks moder- 
ate warmth nor suffers from the intense heat of the sun. 

fructu laetius : richer in fruit. 

capitum iugatio : the joining of the tops, i.e. the joining of the props by 
a cross-bar. Some editors think the tops of the vines were joined in the 
form of a yoke. 

religatio : this probably refers to the fastening of the vines to the trellis 
formed by the uprights and cross pieces. Reid thinks the allusion is to " the 
tying down of the shoots to make them take root." 

propagatio vitium: i.e. the cultivation by layers, propagines ; see 
on § 62. 

Immissio : opposed to amputatio. Some branches are cut off, others are 
left on the vine and allowed to grow. This seems to me more correct than 
*' engrafting," the meaning given in Harpers' Lat. Lex, Stickney refers it 
to the intertwining of the branches in the trellis. Long refers it to putting 
the ends of some shoots in the ground to let them take root. 

54. loquar : deliberative subjunctive, as in proferam, above. Cf. com- 
memorem, § 52. 

stercorandi : of enriching the soil. 
in e5 libro : entitled De Be Bustica. 



142 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 

doctus Hesiodus : often used of poets, like the Greek (7o06s ; cf. Cic. 
Tusc, I. 1, 3, cum apud Graecos antiquissimum sit e doctis genus poetarum. 
cum . . . scriberet : a concessive clause. 
fuit : for vixit. 

lenientem : denoting an attempted action ; cf . dividenti, IV. 11. 
arbustis : groves. Vines were often trained on the trees. 
res rusticae : country life. 
pomariis : orchards. 
omnium : i.e. of every kind. 

XVI. 55. Possum : / might. For the indicative where the English 
would use the conditional construction, see 476, 4 ; 311, c ; 254^ 1. 

longiora : too long. 

provectus sum : / have been carried away. 

loquacior : the comparative has the force of somewhat^ or rather. 

ne . . . vitiis videar vindicare: cf. ne . . . videar^ XIV. 46, and 
ut . . . noscatiSy XV. 52. Notice the alliteration. 

vitiis : defects, failings. 

Ergo : on account of the delights of rural life. 

triumphasset : the subjunctive here with cum may be translated parti- 
cipially, after triumphing. 

Cuius : see on qui, I. 3. 

a me : from mine ; i.e. from my country seat. 

56. cum: when. 

Poteratne . . . senectutem: non potest non = necesse est, ihQVQioxexQndiQV, 
Must not such a spirit, of necessity, make old age happy f — Sommerbrodt. 

Sed venio : Cato returns to his subject proper. 

in agris : in the country . Note its emphatic position. 

senatores . . . senes : see on VI. 19, 20. 

aranti : while plowing ; emphatic by its position. 

dictatorem esse factum : as the dictator was appointed, not elected, 
we would expect the verb dicere instead of facere. 

dictatoris : in apposition with cuius. 

adpetentem : with the force of a causal clause. 

occupatum : a perfect participle where the English idiom would take a 
verb. It may be translated anticipated. It is not, however, strictly coordi- 
nate in thought with interemit, but has in the Latin about the force of a 
temporal clause. Livy gives a somewhat different account of the event IV. 14. 
The act was in reality murder, and Ahala was afterwards placed on trial for 
his crime, but escaped punishment by voluntary exile. 



SECTIONS 56-58. 143 

viatores: travelers^ from via. They were employed by certain magis- 
trates as messengers. Officers having both lictors and viatores used the 
former as personal attendants, the latter to summon the senate and to deliver 
other official messages. They were mostly freedmen, or of low birth. Smith's 
Diet. Antiq. 

agri cultione : a very rare expression for the customary agn cultura. For 
the other passages in which it is found, see Harpers' Lat. Lex. s.v. cultio. 

baud scio an nulla . . . esse : / am inclined to think none can he hap- 
pier, haud scio an^ literally, / know not whether., often implies the probable 
truth of the following clause. 

ad cultum . . . deorum: referring to the fruits and victims offered in 
sacrifice. 

ut . . . redeamus : there is an ellipsis of the governing clause. See on 
ne . . . videar, XIV. 46. Observe also the similarity in sentiment in the 
two passages. 

pore 6 . . . gallina : used collectively. 

lam : moreover. 

succidiam alteram : a second flitch., i.e. the garden was only second in 
importance and usefulness to the supply of salt meat, and was almost as con- 
venient when food was needed. 

Conditiora : the employment of spare time in fowling and Minting gives 
a keener relish to these things. 

57. praecidam : sc. sermonem. 

usu . . . ornatius: ci.fructu laetius, aspectu pulchrius, XV. 53. 

ad quein fruendum : in early writers fruor was used with the accusative ; 
for the construction in this instance, see 544, 2, n. 5 ; 296, rem. ; 427, 5. 

non modo non retardat, verum etiam : translate, so far is old age from 
proving an obstacle that it even, etc. 

aut . . . vel . . . ve : see on sive . . . sive, XII. 40. 

58. Sibi habeant : referring to young men. 

clavam : the foil ; made of wood and used in sword exercises. Young 
soldiers, specially, practiced with it against a stake (palus) set in the ground 
to represent an adversary. 

pilam : the ball. For a full account of the various games of ball in vogue 
among the Greeks and Romans, see Smith's Diet. Antiq, Vol. II. s.v. pila. 

talos . . . et tesseras : dice. The tali, daTpdyaXot, were originally made 
of bone, afterwards of metal. They were oblong, rounded at the ends and 
marked on four sides, 1 and 6 opposite each other and 3 and 4. Four of 
these were used in playing. The tesserae, kv^ol, of which three were employed 
in a game, were like the modem dice. For a full account of these and their 



144 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 

use, see Becker's GalluSy p. 499 ff. ; and Smith's Diet. Antiq. Vol. II., 
talus and tessera. 

id ipsum ut : this is the reading of several MSS. and has been adopted by 
H. Allen, Long, and Reid. The more common reading utrum in place of ut^ 
is more difficult to explain. Supply /aczaw^, and translate even in that they 
may do as they please. 

XVII. 59. qui . . . qui: note the two relative clauses. We might 
expect quique in the second. 

tuenda : management. 

ut intellegatis : cf . ut . . . iwscatis, XY. 52. 

regale ; worthy of a king. regale = quod regem decet; regium=quod regis 
est. — Meissner. 

Sardis : accusative plural, denoting the limit of motion. 

a sociis : the allies of Sparta in the war against Athens. 

communem . . . humanum : courteous and kind. 

c5nsaeptum agrum : a park ; a translation of the Greek irapd^eiaov. 

proceritates : note the plural of the abstract ; the height of the different 
trees. 

in quincuncem: quincunx =quinque'Unciae, five twelfths of a unit of 
weight or measure. It was used in reference to trees planted in the form of 
the five spots on dice, thus : — 



See Harpers' Lat. Lex, s.v. 

dimensa ; note its use in the passive, measured off. 

discripta: arranged. 

Atqui : and yet. 

ego . . . mei . . . mea : emphatic. 

purpuram : purple robe. 

multo auro : ablative of characteristic. The Persians were noted for 
their beautiful ornaments of gold, silver, and precious jewels. 

60. impedit : sc. nos. The pronoun is regularly omitted when quominus 
with its clause follows. 

perduxisse : sc. agri colendi studia. 

esset: equivalent to viveret. Its mood is due to its dependence upon 
perduxisse. 



SECTIONS 60-63. 145 

acta iam aetate : ablative absolute ; with his best years already past. 
The more common expression is exacta aetate. 

senectutis initium : i.e. aetas seniorum. In the strict sense of the term, 
senectus began with the sixty-first year. 

apex : used figuratively, the crowning feature. For its ordinary mean- 
ing, see Harpers' Lat. Lex. s.v. I. 

61. illud elogium : that well-known epitaph, elogium is not equivalent 
to the English "eulogy," the idea of which is expressed in Latin by 
laudatio. 

Hunc . . . virum : early inscriptions upon tombs and monuments were 
written in the old Saturnian measure, populi limits virum^ not gentes. 

carmen : the inscription. 

cuius . . . esset : a causal clause in which cuius is equivalent to cum 
eius. 

Quern virum nuper P. Crassum : Crassum is the subject of esse under- 
stood, and quern virum is the predicate accusative after it. vidimus governs 
two accusatives after the analogy of verbs of making, calling, and the like. 
nuper is used like modo in IX. 27. 

praeditum : invested with. 

ut . . . ante . . . Maximo : in IV. 10-12. 

sententia : a deliberate judgment expressed in the form of a set speech 
or vote. 

honorata : equivalent to a conditional clause. It refers to one who has 
held public office. 

XVIH. 62. in omni oratione : in my whole discourse. 

eam : "only that." 

constituta sit ; for the mood, see on uteretur, I. 2. 

quae . . . defenderet : the verb takes its tense from dixi^ rather than 
from efficitur. 

extremes ; at the close. Influence is the final reward of old age. 

63. honorabilia : said to occur only here in good Latin. 

salutari . . . consul!; that men should greet us, seek after us, give us 
precedence, rise in our presence^ accompany ics on the street, escort us home 
at the close of day, and ask us for advice, decedi and adsurgi are used 
impersonally. 

morata: an adjective derived from mos. "In proportion as they are 
most highly civilized." 

tantum tribuitur : is so much respect paid> 

Quin etiam : nay more. 

DE SEXEC. — 10 



146 SUPPLEMEXTARY XOTES. 

V 

ludis: at the time of the games. The allusion is to the great games, held 
every four years in the month of July, in honor of Athene, the patron god- 
dess of Athens. 

magno consessu : ablative absolute ; translate, in the great assembly. 

certo in loco : seats were reserved in the theater for ambassadors and 
men of distinction. For the custom, see Greek Lex. s.v. irpoedpia^ the front 
seat at the theater. 

sessum : for this use of the supine, see 546, 1 ; 302 ; 435. 

64. multiplex: repeated. 

dixisse . . . quendam : depending upon proditum est., above. The indi- 
rect discourse, which was interrupted at qui^ is again resumed. 

coUegio : the college of augurs. 

antecedit : sc. alios. 

sententiae principatum : ' ' the privilege of speaking or voting first. ' ' 

honore: in official position. 

cum imperio : this applies to consuls and praetors during their term of 
office. 

comparandae : see on XIV. 60. 

65. At: see on YII. 21. 
quaerimus : sc. verum. 
morum : character. 

non illius quidem iustae ; not sufficient indeed, quidem has a conces- 
sive force. Eor the use of the redundant pronoun illius with quidem, see 
450, 4, n. 2 ; 151, e, and 195, c ; 307, rem. 4. 

contemn! : slighted. 

odiosa : cf . II. 4. 

offensio : with passive force. 

bonis : to be taken with both moribus and artibus. 

in vita : in real life. 

natura : disposition. 

66. quid sibi velit : what it means. 
quo . . . eo: the . . . the. 

XIX. soUicitam habere : to keep in a constant state of anxiety. The 
perfect participle with habere denotes the continued effect of the action of 
the verb. See 388, 1, n.; 292, c ; 238. 

aetatem : abstract for concrete. 

esse longe : equivalent to abesse longe. 

qui . . . vTderit : subjunctive of characteristic. 

ubi sit futurus : for the mood, see on qui , . . viderit, above. 



SECTIOiSrS 66-70. 147 

atqul^ tertium .^ . . potest: the meaning is this, "Death ends all, and 
therefore is not to be feared, or is the gate to immortality, and is to be 
desired." The author thus limits the future state to endless sleep, or eter- 
nal happiness, and omits the third alternative, a state of punishment for the 
wicked. 

67. Quid . . . timeam : deliberative subjunctive. 
Quamquam: corrective, as in I. 1. 

cui : the dative of reference, and equivalent to lU ex. Translate, that he 
is sure. 

ad vesperum : "at eventide." 

aetas ilia : referring to adulescens. 

quod : see on qui^ I. 3. 

melius et prudentius : i.e. there would be more wise old men, and they 
would have more influence in leading the young to live circumspectly. 

Mens . . . ratio : cf. nihil agitare mente, XII. 41. . 

qui . . . nuUi: see on qui pauci, XIY. 46. 

nuUae . . . fuissent : cf . VI. 20. 

Sed redeo : cf. X. 32. 

cum . . . cum : cf . II. 4, for a similar use of the conjunction and prepo- 
sition in close proximity. 

68. in Optimo filio : cf. VI. 16. 
tu : sc. sensisti. 

exspectatis . . . dignitatem : who were expected to attain the highest 
honors of the state. See Harpers' Lat. Lex, s.v. exspecto, II. B. 

At: cf. VII. 21. 

idem : to be taken with quod 

At ... At : Cf . XI. 35. 

eo : so much. 

ille . . . hie : ille and hie depart from their usual meaning, the former, 
the latter, in order of mention, ille refers to adulescens, as more remote, 
and hie to senex, as nearer in thought to the speaker. 

69. Quamquam: corrective, and yet; see on § 67. 
aliquid extremum : so in II. 5. 

effluxit : cf . effluxisset, II. 4. 
tantum: only so much. 

quod . . . consecutus sis : for the mood, see 486, III. ; 311, a ; 257, 3. 
et . . . et . . . et: note the polysyndeton. Cf. VI. 18, et miles et 
tribunus, etc. 

quid sequatur : what may follow, i.e. what the future is to be. 

70. modo : provided. 



148 SUPFLEMEXTARY NOTES. 

prdcesserit : sapiens aetate may be supplied. Some editors, however, 
understand aetas as the subject. 

aestatem . . . venisse : the object of dolent. See 371, III. n. 1 ; 237, 
h ; 330^ rem. 

tempora : seasons. 

71. secundum naturam: that it is man's duty to live in accordance 
with nature, was a fundamental principle in the Stoic philosophy. Cf. II. 5. 

emori : stronger than mori. 

Quod idem contingit : hut this also happens. 

adversante . . . natura : with the force of a concessive clause. 

ut cum . . . ut cum : the cum is superfluous ; omit it in translating. 

quasi : quasi for sicut or quemadmodum is archaic. — Meissner. 

quo propius : the neare7\ 

accedam : the subjunctive ; see 529, 11. n. 1, 1 ; 342; 629. 

XX. 72. quoad . . . possit: so far as one (i.e. senex) may he 
ahle. 

munus offici : this expression is found also in IX. 29. It refers to one's 
professional or business duties. 

mortemque contemnere : regarded by some editors as a gloss. 

animosior . . . fortior : animosus means courageous^ spirited, not cast 
down ; fortis is said of one hrave in the immediate presence of danger. 

Hoc illud est : this is the meaning of the answer which^ etc. 

tandem : pray, it adds emphasis to the question. 

audaciter : archaic and rare for audacter. 

integra; unimpaired. 

certis : to he depended upon, trustworthy. The ablative absolute in each 
of these expressions has the force of a temporal clause. 

ipsa suum eadem quae : note the grouping of pronouns. 

coagmentavit . . . conglutinavit : Tischer calls attention to Cicero's 
fondness for these metaphors, and gives examples of their use ; see also 
Harpers' Lat. Lex. 

lam : hesides. It introduces another point in the argument. 

reliquum : note the adjective used as a substantive, with adjective and 
genitive modifiers. 

73. Volt . . . suls : he wishes, I suppose, to he thought dear to his 
friends, 

baud scio an : see on XVI. 66. 

Ennius: sc. dixerit. 

Faxit: see 240, 4 ; 128, e, 3, and 142 ; 131, 4, h, 2. 



SECTIONS 74-78. 149 

74. lam: see on § 72. 
isque: *'but only." 

sensus aut optandus . . . est : cf . this with quae aut plane neglegenda 
. . . optanda, XIX. 6Q. 

meditatum : used passively. Cf . adeptam, II. 4 ; and dimensa, 
XVII. 59. 

ab : from, not " by " ; from youth up. 

incertum an : *' perhaps. " 

timens : the participle has the force of a conditional clause. 

qui : equivalent to quo modo ; see on II. 4. 

animo consistere : to he of firm mind. 

75. nonitalonga: not very long. 

indocti . . . rustic! : i.e. without training in philosophy and without 
the culture that easily comes to men enjoying the advantages of city life. 
The legions were largely recruited from the rustici. 

76. Omnino : on the whole, i.e. to sum the matter up briefly. 

ne . . . quidem : neither; less emphatic than the usual no^ eijen. t. 

XXI. 77. quod : because. Some editors regard quod as a relative. 

cemere : i.e. to see clearly v^th the mental vision; it is stronger than 
videre. 

quo ab ea propius absum : the nearer I am to it. Note the difference 
between the Latin and English forms of expression. The Latin emphasizes 
the fact of separation, even though the objects are very near each other. 

vivere : are living. 

contrarium : uncongenial. 

qui terras tuerentur : to care for the world. 

caelestium : of the heavenly bodies. 

mod5 . . . constantia : moderation and regularity. 

ut ita crederem : to this belief 

78. universa mente divina : the world- soul. 

delibatos : derived from. The soul of each man was a portion of the 
great world-soul. 

haberemus : it takes its tense from audiebam. In a general truth like 
this the English would employ the present. 

quae Socrates . . . disseruisset : for the mood, see 528, 1; 341, c; 
628. 

Sic : explained by the following statements. 

memoria . . . prudentia : observe the chiasmus ; prudentia {providentia), 
foresight. 



150 SUPPLEMEl^TARY NOTES. 

tantae scientiae : bracketed by some editors ; by some taken in the 
genitive, limiting artes; by others, as nominative plural, scientia is rarely 
used in the plural, but may possibly be here because of artes and inventa, 
Kender, so many branches of knowledge. 

naturam : being. 

ne . . . quidem : see on XX. 76. 

esset . , . haberet . . . posset: note the change from the present to 
the imperfect. Various explanations have been suggested ; none of them 
very satisfactory. Sommerbrodt thinks such changes occur more frequently 
when reference is made to authors who lived in the past, but whose writings 
belong to the present. 

magno . . . argumento ; strong proof; predicate dative. 

esse : its subject is the clause, quod lam pueri . . . recordari. 

reminisci . . . recordari : note the distinction in meaning ; the first 
refers to a momentary, the second, to a continued act. 

Haec Platonis fere : these are in brief the arguments of Plato. 

XXII. 79. Nolite arbitrari: for the forms of prohibition, see 489; 
269, a ; 271, 2. 

nusquam . . . fore : the Greek is cbs oi}biv elfii iy^ ert. 

dum eram v5biscum : so long as I was with you. Note the imperfect 
with dum instead of the usual present. 

80. dum . . . essent : the subjunctive is due to the indirect discourse. 
cum excessissent : note the adversative asyndeton. 

emori : see on XIX. 71. 

insipientem : unconscious ; Greek &<ppo)v. 

sed : mihi persuasum est is to be understood from mihi . . . persuaderi 
. . . potuit, above. Without supplying the ellipsis, it may be translated, 
but rather that. 

integer: undefiled, i.e. free from contamination with the body. 

sapientem : truly conscious. 

ceterarum rerum : depending upon quaeque. On the propleptic use of 
ceterarum, see I. 3. 

lam vero : see on iam, XVI. 56 ; vero adds emphasis. 

81. Atqui: and yet ; see on II. 6. 
futuri sint : they are destined to be. 

est interiturus : for the force of the periphrastic form, see futuri sint, 
above. 

banc . . . pulchritGdinem : this beautiful universe. 
tuentur : cf. XXI. 77. 



SECTIONS 81-84. 151 

servabitis : for the future indicative instead of the imperative, see 487, 4 ; 
269,/; 272, 1, h. 

XXIII. 82. patrem . . . Paulum : cf. VI. 16. 

duos avos . . . patnium : cf . IX. 29. 

multos ; sc. alios. 

esse cdnatos: instead of conaturos fuisse ; cf. swscepiwrwm /m'sse, below. 
In the direct discourse, two constructions are admissible, — non conati essent 
nisi crevissent, and the less common non conahantur nisi cernerent. The 
indirect esse conatos corresponds to the direct conahantur. See 527, III. 
and n. 2, 1 ; 337, 6, 2, and 308, h ; 659, n., and 254, 3. 

pertinere : cf . VII. 24. 

An censes : cf. An eis, VI. 15. 

aliquid : cognate accusative with glorier ; cf . idem, X. 32. 

suscepturum fuisse : see on esse conatos, above. 

aetatem ; equivalent to vitam. 

nescio quo modo : iii some way. 

quasi . . . victurus esset : cf . this sentiment with vivere arbitror . . . 
nominanda, XXI. 77. 

excessisset : attracted into the subjunctive by victurus esset. 

ut animi . . . essent: for this result clause in apposition with quod 
(= et id), see 501, III. ; 332,/; 553, 4. 

83. Quid : see on VIII. 26. 

qui . . „ cernat . . . cuius ... sit : for the mood, see on uteretur, I. 2. 

ad meliora : to a better life. 

Equidem efferor : for my own part I am carried away. 

patres vestros : cf . § 82. 

Quo : equivalent to ad quos. 

retraxerit: potential subjunctive ; see 311 ; Roby, 1636, 1540. 

SI . . . largiatur : note the present in a condition, really impossible, but 
regarded as possible, for the sake of the argument ; see 509, n. 2 ; 596, 
rem. 1. 

ut . . . repuerascam : the object of largiatur. 

quasi decurso spatio : cf. spatio supremo, V. 14. 

84. Sed habeat sane: sc. aliquid commodi ; concessive subjunctive, 
but the concessive particle is omitted. 

et ei docti : and that, too, philosophers. Cf. doctus, XV. 54. 

quod contra : whereas on the contrary. — Reid. 

meum : sc. cremari. 

quo : equivalent to ad quae ; cf . § 83. 



152 



SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 



nonquo: not because. 

ferrem : for the mood, see 516, II. 2 ; 341, rem. ; 541, 2. 

85. dixisti : in II. 4. 

qui : causal ; equivalent to cum ego. 

minuti : petty. He refers to the Epicureans, and thinks them of little 
account in comparison with Socrates and Plato. 
nihil sentiam : I shall be unconscious. 
quae dicerem : a final clause ; see Roby, II. 1632. 



VARIATIONS FROM THE TEXT OF MtlLLER. 



I. 


2 satis digne 




Miiller 


, digne satis. 


II. 


4 adeptam 




(( 


adepti. 


II. 


5 descriptae 




a 


discriptae. 


lY. 


10 plusque 




ii 


postque. 


Y. 


14 suasissem. Annos 




u 


suasi. Sed annos. 


VI. 


18 modo ; Karthagini male 


u 


modo Karthagini . . . cui male 


YI. 


20 percontantibus in . 


, . Ludo " 


percontantur t ut est in . . 




respondentur 






Ludo; 


IX. 


28 composita 






compta. 


XI. 


35 morbum 






morborum vim. 


XIY. 


49 Yidebamus 






tMori videbamus. 


XYI. 


56 quam dixi 






de qua dixi. 


XYI. 


58 ipsum ut lubebit 






ipsum utrum lubebit. 


XYII. 


59 communem 






comen. 


XYIII. 


64 nostro 






vestro. 


XIX. 


68 quoniam 






quod. 


XIX. 


70 sapientibus 






sapienti. 


XXIII. 


82 ullo labore et 






ullo aut labore aut. 


XXIII. 


85 defatigationem 






defectionem. 



INDEX TO NOTES. 



The numbers refer to sections ; those in full-faced type to the foot-notes ; those in ordinary 
type to the supplementary notes. 



ah, 74. 

ablative, absolute, 15, 71, 72; locative, 
26 ; of characteristic, 30, 59. 

abstracts, in the plural, 13, 59 ; for con- 
crete, 26, 34, 46, 51, 52, QQ. 

absum, 77. 

accusative, adverbial, 1, 34; cognate, 
32, 82 ; two, 61 ; with memini, 14. 

acta vita, 38. 

actus, 5. 

ad, 10. 

adept am, 4. 

adferat, 4. 

adiuero, 1. 

adjective, in place of adverb, 38, 42 ; as 
substantive, 72. 

adsum, 38. 

ad te, 1. 

adulescentia, 2, 4. 

adversative particles, 1. 

aeqxdtas, 1. 

aetas, 39, 45, 48, 60, 67, 76, 82. 

aetas seniorum, 2, 4. 

aetate progressi, 33. 

age, 24. 

agri cultio, 56. 

aliquid eztremum, 5. 

alliteration, 28, 38. 

ambassadors, seats for, 63. 

a me, 55. 

anacoluthon, 7. 

an eis, 15. 

animosus, 72. 

animus, 36. 

annihilation, the doctrine of, 66. 

antehac, 16. 

apex, 60. 

appositive, with force of clause, 21, 26, 
50. 

apud quern, 3. 



a qua, 5. 

arbusta, 54. 

arma, 9. 

artes, 9. 

asyndeton, 36, 80. 

at, 21, 27, 33, 35, 47, 65, 68. 

atqui, 6, 59, 81. 

auctoritas senatus, 11. 

audaciter, 72. 

audire, prepositions with, 43. 

augur, 11, 64. 

auspicia optima, 11. 

autem, 1. 

bacae, 5. 

bacchius, 24. 

banquets, 46. 

bene beateque vivendum, 4. 

benefactorum, 9. 

caducum, 5. 

calce, 83. 

cani, 62. 

capite operto, 34. 

car ceres, 83. 

carere, 31. 

carmen, 61. 

cavea, 48. 

cec?o, 20. 

censor, 16, 42. 

centurion, 33. 

cereo, 44. 

cernere, 77. 

cer^e, 2. 

cer^o, 2. 

cetera, 3, 80. 

chiasmus, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 78. 

clava, 58. 

clientes, 32. 

cogitatio, 41. 



153 



164 



INDEX TO NOTES. 



cognomen y 1 ; position of , 48. 

colere, 10, 26. 

columna rostrata, 44. 

comicif 36. 

comitaSf 10, 65. 

commune i 2. 

compotatiOf 45. 

concenatiOf 45. 

confeceriSi 6. 

confectiOy 2. 

confectus^ 14. 

conficio, 38. 

consaeptus ager, 59. 

consolatiOf 4. 

considaris, 7. 

conviviumf 45. 

coquOt 1. 

crec?o, 21. 

cruelty of Hannibal, 76. 

cuifuerim occupatus, 32. 

cwi quipareatf 2. 

cultaey 9. 

cum, 4, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, 30, 33, 40, 55, 

56, 61, 67, 71. 
cwria, 32. 

dative, of possession, 4; predicate, 78; 

withpT-ospicie/is, 25; of reference, 16, 

38. 
(fecec^i, 63. 
deliratiOf 36. 

deponents, in the passive, 4, 59, 74. 
descrihere, 49. 
descriptae, 5. 
desiderare, 31. 
deifc5, 5. 
dictator, 56. 
dignitaSy 8. 
diligentia, 35. 
diligere, 26. 
diritas, 65. 

disjunctive particles, 57. 
dividentiy 11. 
divine f 44. 
dixeritf 8. 
doceo, 50. 
doctuSj 54. 
drama, of life, 5. 
duhito, 16. 



duint, 47. 
dwm, 33, 79. 

JSdepol, 25. 

egrere, 31. 

65^0, 10, 59. 

elogium, 61, 73. 

emancipOy 38. 

emoriy 71. 

enm, 1, 4, 7, 19. 

equidem, 21. 

eruditiuSy 3. 

esse, conatosy 82; with meminiy 30, 

43, 78. 
esse^ 3, 5. 
e^, adversative, 28. 
etenimy 15, 31. 
e^si, 2, 29. 
excellenSf 4. 
excisamy 18. 
explication, 3. 
ex ^e, 27. 

faciat, 17. 

facillimey 7. 

facinuSy 40. 

falsum, 4. 

father, power of the, 37. 

/aa;z^, 73. 

/era^, 3. 

/erre leg em y 11. 

ferundumy 5; 

^(iei, 1. 

fiagitiumy 40. 

fortassey 46. 

fortiSy 14, 72. 

fructuSy 5. 

fruor, 57. 

/wi?, 5, 54. 

future tense, 6, 20, 81. 

gemma y 53. 

genitive, objective, 1, 4; subjective, 9 ; 

with compleoy 46; with similiSy 31. 
yepovaia, 20. 
gerundive, 24, 50, 59. 
Gigantumy 5. 
grandis, 16. 
gravitas, 10. 



INDEX TO NOTES. 



155 



graviiLS, 1. 
gremiurriy 51. 

habere rationem^ 51. 
hastay 19. 

haud scio an, 56, 73. 
hendiadys, 15, 51. 
hie, 68. 

honorabilia, 63. 
honor ati, 22. 
hospites, 32. 
humanitas, 1. 

mm, 3, 72, 74, 80. 

iam diu, 18. 

^(^, 7, 8, 30, 43, 45. 

idem, 24. 

ille, 31, 68. 

i^^MQ^, 25, 35, 50. 

immissio, 53. 

immortality, arguments for, 78. 

imperfect tense, 13. 

imperium, 64. 

in aliis, proleptic use of, 24. 

incurro, 25. 

indicative, 32, 46. 

indigere, 31. 

indoles, 26. 

infinitive, 39, 47, 70. 

infirmitas, 33. 

ingenia, 22. 

ingravescens, 6. 

m ipsis, 4. 

m ?t/ce, 12. 

in manibus, 12, 22. 

m oculis, 12. 

insitio, 54. 

instillare, 36. 

m sitos, 37. 

inter did, 22. 

interfui, 7. 

m ^ogra, 11. 

in vi^a, 65. 

ipsi, 4. 

is^e, 27, 46. 

is^wc, 6, 8. 

i^a, 12, 38. 

iterative verb, 2. 

iterum, 11, 14, 19. 



iucundus, 2. 
iugatio, 53. 
iw7*is consulti, 22. 
iuveniliter, 10. 
inventus, 2. 

lacertus, 27. 

laudatio, 12. 

lectulus, 38. 

lectus, 46. 

legatus, 18. 

levasso, 1. 

Zeaj, Cincia, 10 ; Focoma, 14. 

libido, 40. 

litotes, 7. 

litterae Graecae, 3, 26, 38. 

^ocw-s, 27. 

Zwc?i, 63. 

Ludus, 20. 

magisteria, 46. 

Magna Mater, 45. 

rnaior, 1, 41. 

raallem, 32. 

malleoli, 52. 

maturitas, 33, 71. 

me ipsum, 1. 

memory, exercise of, 38. 

mens, 36, 41. 

metaphor, favorite, 72; from military 

life, 49; mixed, 28; softened, 42. 
Metaurus, battle of, 11. 
metonymy, 32. 
metuo, 37. 
mi/ii, 30. 
yninuta, 46. 
misimus, 3. 
moderatio, 1, 33. 
modice, 2. 
moc^o, 22, 33, 70. 
moliens, 26. 
morata, 63. 
mores, 10, 65. 
moriens, 30. 
mifcZ^o an?e, 18. 

nam, 7. 

natura, 5, 65, 71, 78. 

ne, 33. 



156 



INDEX TO NOTES. 



7iec, 13, 27, 53. 

7iecessitas, 4. 

nefas, 40. 

nego, 17. 

7ie quidem, 46, 76, 78. 

m/iz^ habeo, 13. 

nisi forte, 18, 33. 

nohis^y 6. 

noenum, 10. 

non modo non, 34, 57. 

nonne, 31. 

no fa censoria, 42. 

noun, singular used collectively, 56. 

nom, 1. 

nullaene, 15. 

nitm, 19. 

numquam deserunt, 9. 

nrtnc cwm maximey 38. 

oceatiOf 51. 
odiosa, 4, 25. 
offensio, 65. 
omninOf 9, 28. 
opes, 8. 
opt^s esse, 31. 
orator, 28, 38. 
otiosay 49. 

participle, for conditional clause, 31, 52, 
61, 74; for causal clause, 56; perfect, 
56, 66. 

patientia, 10. 

percipi, 33. 

percontantibus, 20. 

periphrastic, the force of, 81. 

person, second singular, 21. 

philosophia, 2. 

p^^a, 58. 

plantae, 52. 

plaudit e, 70. 

plenus, 1. 

plerumquey 51. 

phisque, 10. 

poUicear, 6. 

polysyndeton, 69. 

ponebat, 10. 

porro, 43. 

possum, 24, 55. 

poteratne . . . non, 56. 



potero, 7. 
praemi, 1. 

present tense, 30, 34, 43, 78, 83. 
primus, 44. 

prohibitions, forms of, 79. 
pronoun, relative, 36; omitted, 60; re- 
dundant, 65 ; grouping of, 72. 
propagatio, 53. 
propagines, 52. 
propter, 48. 
provenire, 20. 
proverbs, 21. 
prudentia, 1. 
pueritia, 2. 
pm^ura, 59. 
putassent, 4. 

quadriennio posty 10. 

gwae, 19, 42, 46, 51. 

quaestor, 10. 

gwam . . . ingrediundum, 6. 

gwam . . . iucundos, 26. 

quamquam, 1, 9, 10, 51, 69. 

quamvis, 25. 

quamvis long a, 4. 

quasi, 71. 

gwe . . . gwe, 1. 

gm, 3, 4, 5, 7, 20, 55, 67, 74, a5. 

gma, 13, 44. 

quibus, double construction of, 17. 

gwid, 22, 26, 83. 

quidem, 30, 65. 

quiete, 13. 

quincunx, 59. 

quisque, with superlative, 43. 

gwo, 83, 84. 

g^^oc?, 5, 32, 44, 77, 84. 

gwo m genere, 4. 

gwo modo, 12. 

quoniam, 44. 

quoque, 46. 

quorsus, 13, 42, 44. 

rafio, 41. 
recordor, 13, 78. 
refrigeratio, 46. 
religatio, 53. 
reliquias avi, 19. 
requirere, 31. 



INDEX TO NOTES. 



167 



I 



re5 familiaris, 22. 
rhetorical question, 27. 
rostra, 32. 
runiores, 10. 
rustici, 75. 

salutare, 21. 

sapiens, 80. 

sarmenta, 52. 

Saturnian measure, 61. 

scelus, 40. 

scientiae, 78. 

scribens, 13. 

5ecZ, 2, 3, 26, 80. 

senatus, 19. 

senecta, 25. 

senectus, 2, 4. 

sententia, 61. 

sepulcra, 21, 61. 

sermo, 28. 

service in the army, 34. 

sessum, 63. 

szc, 4, 26. 

siccitas, 34. 

significare, 36. 

similesque sunt ut si qui, 17. 

si/ie querela, 7. 

singular, for English plural, 18. 

siquidem, 41. 

sodalitates, 45. 

spatium supremum, 14. 

spondee, in place of iambus, 20. 

stultitiae, 4. 

suada, 50. 

5wa sponte, 43. 

subjunctive, by attraction, 2, 82; of 
characteristic, 2, 4, 7, 15, 42, 52, 62, 
66, 83 ; concessive, 58, 84 ; conditional, 
9, 27, 47; deliberative, 50, 52, 54, 67; 
dependent clause, 6, 7, 11, 31, 60 ; final, 
24, 46, 52, 56, 85 ; indirect discourse, 
4, 39, 40, 80; potential, 33, 69, 83; 
reason, 4, 7, 15, 44; result, 82; with 
cum, 4 ; with quo, 41, 43 ; with 
quod, 4. 

succidia altera, 56. 

suicide, Stoic doctrine of, 72. 

suis libris, 3. 



sunt, for vivunt, 21. 
suus, 33. 

?a?i, 58. 

tarn diu dum, 41. 

tandem, 72. 

fan^a . . . quanta . . . maxima, 41. 

temerltas, 20. 

tempus aetatis, 2. 

?e quidem, 2. 

tertius . . . tricesimus, 19. 

tesserae, 58. 

tolerabiliorem, 8. 

trihuimus, 3. 

tribunus, 18. 

^t^or, 77. 

w^tro, 38. 
z^?zc?e, 12. 
wsw, 7. 

wf, 12, 26, 31, 32. 
utare, 33. 
utendum,, 36. 
uteretur, 2. 

vacare, 31. 
vadimoiiium, 21. 
valetudo, 35. 
ve/^em, 26, 32. 
vereor, 37. 
vero, 40. 
versat, 1. 
vestrum, 6. 
vetere proverbio, 7. 
?;iai, 16. 
viatores, 56. 
vici? Olympia, 14. 
mc?e^ 25. 
vietum, 5. 
vinulentia, 44. 
viritim, 11. 
vi^a nulla, 7. 
vz^za, 35. 
vituperatio, 39. 
viviradices, 52. 
vixitque, 13. 
vocatio in ius, 22. 

world-soul, the, 78. 



INDEX OF PROPER NAMES. 



The numbers refer to sections in tlie text. 



M'. Acilius Balbus, 14. 

M'. AciliusGlabrio, 32. 

Sex. Aelius Paetus, 27. 

M. Aemilius Lepidus, 61. 

L. Aemilius Paulus, 29, 61, 75, 82. 

L. Aemilius Paulus Maeedonicus, 15, 

Africanus. See Cornelius. 

Aiax, 31. 

Albinus. See Postumius. 

L. Ambivius Turpio, 48. 

Apollo, 78. 

Archytas, 39, 41. 

Arganthonius, 69. 

Aristides, 21. 

Aristo, 3. 

Athenae, 1, 43, 63. 

A. Atilius Calatinus, 61. 

M. Atilius Regulus, 75. 

Atticus, T. Pompdnius, 1. 

Brutus. See Junius. 

L. Caecilius Metellus, 30, 61. 

Caecilius Statins, 24, 25, 36. 

Caepio. See Servilius. 

Camillus. See Furius. 

Cannensis, 75. 

Capua, 10. 

Sp. Car villus Maximus, 11. 

Cato. See Porcius. 

Cento. See Claudius. 

Cethegus. See Cornelius. 

Cineas, 43. 

App. Claudius Caecus, 16, 37. 

App. Claudius Crassinus, 41. 

C. Claudius Cento, 50. 

M. Claudius Marcellus, 75. 

Cleanthes, 23. 

M. Cornelius Cethegus, 10, 50. 

Cn. Cornelius Scipio Calvus, 29, 75. 



82. 



P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus Maior, 

29, 35, 61, 82. 
P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus Minor, 3, 

4, 9, 19, 28, 34, 35, 49, 68, 77, 82, 85. 
P. Cornelius Scipio Nasica Corculum. 

50. 
Ti. Coruncanius, 15, 27, 43. 
Crassus. See Licinius. 
Critobulus, 59. 

M. Curius Dentatus, 15, 43, 55, 56. 
Cyrus, the Elder, 30, 32, 79, 82. 
Cyrus, the Younger, 59. 

P. Decius Mus, 75. 
P. Decius Mus, 43, 75. 
Democritus, 23. 
Diogenes, 23. 
C. Duellius, 44. 

Q. Ennius, 10, 14, 16, 50, 73. 

Q. Fabius Maximus Verrucosus, 10, 11, 

13, 15, 39, 61. 
C. Fabricius Luscinus, 15, 43. 
Flamininus. See Quinctius. 
C. Flaminius, 11. 
L. Furius Camillus, 41. 

Gades, 69. 
Gallia, 42. 

Glabrio. See Acilius. 
Gorgias, 13, 23. 

Hannibal, 10. 
Hesiod, 23, 54. 
Hispania, 32. 
Homer, 23, 31, 54. 

Isocrates, 13, 23. 
L. Junius Brutus, 76. 



168 



IXDEX OF PROPER XAMES. 



159 



Karthago, 18. 

Lacedaemon, 63. 

C. Laeliiis, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 28, 35, 77, 85. 

Laertes, 54. 

Lepidus. See Aemilius. 

P. Licinius Crassus, 27, 50, (>!. 

Livius Andronicus, 50. 

M. Livius Macatus, 11. 

C. Livius Salinator, 7. 

M. Livius Salinator, 11. 

Lysander, 59, 63. 

Lysimachus, 21. 

T. Maccins Plautus, 50. 
Sp. Maelius, 56. 
Marcellus. See Claudius. 
Q. Marcius Philippus, 14. 
Masinissa, 34. 
Maxim us. See Fabius. 
Metellus. See Caecillius. 
Milo, 27, 33. 

Cn. Naevius, 20, 50. 
Nearchus, 41. 
Nestor, 31. 

Oedipus Coloneus, 22. 
Olympia, 33, 
Origines, 38. 

Paulus. See Aemilius. 

Pelias, 83. 

Persae, 59. 

Philippus. See ^lareius. 

Pisistratus, 72. 

Plato, 13, 23, 41, 44, 78. 

Plautus. See Maccius. 

Poeni, 44, 75. 

C. Pontius, 41. 

T. Pontius, 33. 

M. Porcius Cato, Censor, 3 and ff. 

M. Porcius Cato, 15, 68, 84. 

Sp. Postumius Albinus, 41. 

Sp. Postumius Albinus, 7. 



Pyrrhus, 16, 43, 55. 
Pythagoras, 23, 33, 73, 78. 

L. Quinctius Cincinnatus, 56. 
L. Quinctius Flamininus, 42. 
T. Quinctius Flamininus, 1, 42. 
T. Quinctius Flamininus, 14. 

Regulus. See Atilius. 
Roma, 23. 

Sabini, 46, 55. 

Salinator. See Livius. 

Samnites, 43, 55. 

Sardis, 59. 

Scipio. See Cornelius. 

M. Sempronius Tuditanus, 50. 

P. Sempronius Tuditanus, 10. 

C. Ser villus Ahala, 56. 

Cn. Servilius Caepio, 14. 

Simonides, 23. 

Socrates, 26, 59, 78. 

Solon, 26, 50, 72, 73. 

Sophocles, 22, 47. 

Statins. See Caecilius. 

Stesichorus, 23. 

G. Sulpicius Galus, 49. 

Tarentum, 10, 11, 39, 41. 

Tartessii, 69. 

Themistocles, 8, 21. 

Thermopylae, 32. 

Tithonus^ 3. 

Troia, 31. 

Tuditanus. See Sempronius. 

Turpio. See Ambivius. 

M. Valerius Corvinus, 60. 
L. Valerius Flaccus, 42. 
T. Veturius Calvinus, 41. 

Xenocrates, 23. 
Xenophon, 30, 46, 59, 79. 

Zeno, 23. 



i 



'-'BRARYOF 



CONGRESS 




